Savage
by Mundster Madman
Summary: Post TLO - Ares made a mistake, and dealt with a Titan to gain revenge against Percy Jackson. They conspired to turn Percy into what he has fought for years: a monster. However, their devious plan backfired when they couldn't control him. Now Percy is a werewolf, and he prowls the land, stricken with the curse of Achilles and the power of Ares. The Wolf is savage, and has control.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**AN:** Hey guys! I found this dust-covered idea in the depths of my computer, along with my forgotten plan for this story, which was beneath a stack of books and discs. I've wanted to do a werewolf story for a long time now, simply because they are by far my favorite monster, unless you count dragons, which I don't. They're not monsters, but rather BEASTS OF LEGEND! I'm rambling. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

**Ares POV**

Stupid brat thinks he's too good for us. Percy Jackson thinks he can humiliate me, and the rest of the gods, by turning down the offer. I would have made him suffer for centuries when he became a god. My revenge was denied at that moment in the throne room, but I will still have it. I looked over my shoulder at the straining buffoon of a commander, and then turned around to face him. I walked around until he could see me, and then said, "Atlas, Percy Jackson put you here."

"Back off, you sorry excuse for a war-god. Your taunts mean nothing as long as I'm underneath this cursed burden. When you have the balls to face me at full power, then feel free to talk shit," Atlas barked out at me.

"Who are you calling a sorry excuse? You were defeated by a huntress, yet you call yourself a mighty warrior. But I ain't here to abuse you, unfortunately. I remind you of the brat's deed so you will aid me in punishing him. If I released you at this moment, you could do nothing. I could get every god to fight with me, and you would be grabbing Ouranos' fat ass in seconds. We can kill the brat. He can't beat both of us," I shouted. The bastard actually laughed at me.

"You think killing him will solve anything? At least I have a brain, Ares. If Jackson dies, he goes to Elysium. Hades wouldn't interfere, and the judges wouldn't dare send him anywhere else. You are an utter and complete idiot, you foul piece of rancid maggot flesh," Atlas retorted. I broke his nose.

"Call me an idiot again, and there are other things I can break, you sun-baked pile of dog shit," I screamed. He laughed at me some more, and I happily brutalized his face.

"Stop this, you weakling. You cannot pay attention long enough to notice that every wound you inflict I heal. How can you hope to crush Jackson? If revenge is what you seek, we must break his spirit, and force him into committing crimes so vile he gets a direct line to Tartarus. That is how you destroy that hero," Atlas said.

"So what do we do, genius?" I said harshly. He smiled.

"We make him into the thing he has fought all his life. A monster," he said.

**Percy POV**

"Come on, Annabeth! We'll be late if you don't stop messing with that thing," I whined.

"It isn't a thing! This is my mother's temple I'm working on, and it needs to be perfect," she yelled. I rolled my eyes.

"You said that about every temple, every palace, every column, and every toilet. The designs will be there, but the food will get cold!" I replied. I heard her sigh, and then she walked out, thankfully without her work.

"Fine, but only because your mom is cooking," she said before she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. I smiled, and everything kind of blurred together until we were at our cabin at Montauk.

"Hey kids, you're just in time. Paul just finished cooking the burgers," my mom said. I walked up to her and gave her a hug and a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey, mom. Sorry we're a bit late. I had to pull someone away from work," I said, earning a quick punch from Annabeth. It didn't hurt, of course. You know, the whole Achilles curse thing. I sat down across from my mom, and we started to dig into our food, which is as amazing as Paul said it would be. He is fantastic at grilling.

"What did you do to this meat, Paul?" I asked with my mouth full. My mom glared at me, but Paul just smiled.

"I found out a few years ago that marinating the burgers in Worcestershire sauce really tenderizes the meat. Good isn't it?" Paul said.

"I haven't had one yet. I will be the judge of that," someone said. I turned to see my dad, Poseidon, walking up to us.

"Um, hey dad. What's going on?" I asked.

"What? I can't just stop by to say hello?" he asked in return with a lopsided grin on his face. Is that the smile I always use?

"Well, uh, you haven't before," I responded.

"Your birthday, remember?" he asked. I shook my head, and smiled at him.

"Nope. Stopped by and left me the sand dollar, and the advice," I said.

"I would have given you the sand dollar anyway. Very useful when you visit Atlantis. But, I get the point. I'll have to stop by when I find some time, just to do it," he responded. I grinned at him.

"Gotcha! You said you'll have to stop by at some point just to visit. So what's going on?" I asked with a laugh. My dad turned to Annabeth.

"You've rubbed off on him I see. Ah well, maybe he's inherited some more of my own smarts. Excellent burger, by the way, Blowfish," my dad said. By now, everyone knew he did it on purpose. At least Paul and my mom aren't irritated by it. Paul mumbled out a thank you to the sea-god. "Anyway, you are right. Something is going on, but it isn't anything bad. I wanted you to come down and visit Atlantis soon. We are still rebuilding, of course, but things are significantly better than they were when you last saw the city. There will also be a surprise for you when you get there," Poseidon said.

"Not a really big surprise when you tell me it will be there," I responded.

"But I didn't, and won't, tell you what the surprise is, so now you'll be thinking about it for the next few weeks until you visit," my dad replied. Crap! This is going to suck so bad! I sighed, and put my head in my hands.

"I've had more than enough surprises for a whole lifetime. Can't you just tell me?" I pleaded.

"Ah, but you must understand that I'm a god, so I've lived for many lifetimes. I can't get enough of surprises, personally. They keep things interesting," My dad said before he paused. He then nodded his head and sighed. "Zeus wants to speak with me, for whatever reason. Something about Ares vanishing for a few days. This time, at least, all of our weapons are still here," he said with a chuckle. I just frowned. I hate Ares, but I think he still hates me more. When we turned our heads, my dad flashed away.

"I'm not sure I will ever get used to that," Paul said, earning a laugh from everyone else. I stood up to go get some basket from the cabin for mom when a chill went down my spine. That doesn't happen unless my point is about to be attacked, but nobody is around. I heard some wolves off in the woods. I wonder if the wolves belong to the hunters?

I grabbed the basket from the cabin, and took a tiny peek inside. "Yes! Her brownies rock!" I thought. I stepped out of the cabin, and that cold sensation went down my spine again. Then I got hit so hard that my vision went dark for a moment and my stomach turned. Whatever my attacker was glowed red and gray. The monster released a feral growl, then it bit me; somehow its teeth got through the curse. I finally managed to un-cap riptide, and I shoved my nearly iconic sword through the monster's throat. I wasn't near the cabin anymore. I looked around a bit, but the only thing I could identify was the moon, which wasn't in a different position, meaning I can't be too far away. I'm probably still in New York, and, with any luck, I'm still in Montauk. I must have been shadow-traveled, or something like that. The bite on my shoulder really started to hurt and itch, and I realized I needed to bind it soon, or else it might begin to fester. I never got the chance, because I blacked out moments later.

**Ares POV**

"Why did he pass out?" I asked the titan, who still struggled beneath his burden. He grunted at me, and looked into the magic screen I opened to view our selected agent's work. We expected Jackson to kill the beast, but the job was done.

"You are an idiot. His curse was just violated. That has not happened to him before, if it ever occurred at any other point in history, and that is the apparent response the breach caused. We will have to watch and see if anything else happens. Anyway, he won't be asleep long. The curse should take hold of him soon, and the pain will wake him," Atlas answered in his style. I'm not sure at times if I like this guy, or hate him. I love fighting him, and that's all that matters.

"Scumbag," I answered to his idiot comment. We both turned to the screen when we heard the brat begin to scream; we both grinned in response.

**Percy POV**

I hoped that I was dying. Blacking out and dying from poison isn't the best way to go, but it would be better than dying at Ares hands. Oh how I hoped I was dying. Then the burning started. I felt like I was taking a second bath in the Styx, but this time it was worse, because I felt as if I was being stabbed, and my bones broke in several places. It felt like I was being stretched and boiled at the same time, all while getting sucker punched by Ares, Atlas, Athena, and Kronos.

I admit it, I screamed. Loudly. A cloud overcame my mind, and my scream turned to a savage roar. Then my body took over, and I howled. I managed to force myself to look at my body, and saw claws and paws instead of hands, feet, and nails, although my fore-paws still vaguely resembled human hands. I had four legs, yet I could still stand on two, but that felt a bit more unnatural. I lost control again, and kind of watched myself move around on all fours. It felt weird at first. Then it hit me.

I had been turned into a werewolf! Horror filled my still conscious mind when the beast within me howled once more. The wolf had full control over my actions. Suddenly, the monster I had become ceased howling when the night lit up as bright as day. "Come on, brat. You have someone who wants to see you," Ares said before he grabbed my throat roughly.

Soon we stood in a familiar place: Mount Othrys. Ares then made the mistake of letting go of my throat. Even without standing on my hind legs, I could almost look Ares in his eyes. I towered over him when I stood up, and I willingly growled at the war-god.

"Easy there, pet," Atlas said, with a chuckle. "Jackson, you may have noticed that you aren't quite human anymore. You've become that which you, and your kind, have hunted and destroyed for ages: a monster. Specifically, you are now a werewolf. Your personality will be continually sucked up by the beast until you no longer exist. Perhaps, if you are extremely fortunate, you will manage to retain some scrap of your humanity when you are not in wolf form, but I doubt it. Your friends will now try to kill you, and perhaps your human half will try to let them. However, the most likely thing is that you will savagely murder those you call friends." I turned all of my attention to him, and before I knew it, the wolf stood in front of Atlas threateningly. "Now, now, killing me just makes the sky fall to the earth. Even a monster like you knows that isn't good. Besides, I'm only partly responsible," Atlas continued. My clawed hand shot out and brutally grabbed his neck.

"What is it, Atlas? Can't control him like you thought you could?" Ares taunted.

"After all, Ares is the primary architect behind your transformation," Atlas barely managed to force out. Ares smiled, and pulled his sword when I turned my head his way. I wanted so badly to snap Atlas' neck, but I used every ounce of my will, and forced the beast to let go. But that left me far too tired to stop myself from attacking Ares. I possessed no control over this wolf that I became. I moved incredibly fast, faster than I ever had before, and caught Ares' sword in my jaws after he swung it toward me. The beast clamped its jaws shut, and snapped Ares' symbol of power like a twig.

Now Ares was pale and powerless. The beast growled at him, well, it was more of a savage roar, and I swear I saw the almighty god of war piss his pants. Atlas must have seen it too, since he started laughing. Ares yelled something to the sky, and golden light filled the area. I knew what that meant, and the beast knew as well, and it dashed for safety.

**Ares POV**

"What is that smell?" Athena asked. Atlas laughed.

"That is Ares' urine, o' wise one," Atlas said while laughing.

"What happened, son?" Zeus asked. I still couldn't speak past the lump in my throat. Is this the fear I instilled in mortals for all these years?

"Whatever happened, father, Ares sword is broken," Artemis said. "And it was broken in some creature's jaws." Zeus' expression darkened, and he grabbed my face gently to help me calm down.

"What happened, Ares?" Zeus asked again. I swallowed hard, and managed one word.

"Jackson," I said.

"What does he mean, 'Jackson'?" Poseidon demanded. "Percy was just at Montauk with his mother. I saw him less than an hour ago."

"I can explain, if you care to listen to a Titan," Atlas said. Once he finished relaying the tale, everyone glared at me. Poseidon had to be held back by Zeus and Apollo, but that didn't stop him from spitting out profanities so vulgar, even I hadn't heard some of them.

"How could you be so petty, Ares?" Hermes demanded.

"He may be a complete fool, but he was a great hero," Athena said, surprising everyone.

"You idiot! You ruined my plan!" mother screamed.

"What plan?" Poseidon demanded. Hera did not answer. Apollo gasped.

"Something is wrong with my Oracle," he yelled. He also let go of Poseidon, who managed to slip away from Zeus and hit me so hard I flew into the side of the mountain.

"What do you mean, Apollo?" Artemis asked.

"The Spirit of Delphi just, well, died, for lack of a better word. She no longer exists." Apollo responded. I groaned. But Poseidon's attention was not on me, so I didn't get another blow. "Whatever Hera had planned was essential to the new prophecy. Somehow Ares and Atlas managed to break a Great Prophecy, and that killed the Spirit of Delphi," Apollo said with venom.

"What does that mean?" Zeus asked.

"It means that whatever was supposed to happen has been broken by Perseus' transformation," Athena said.

"Can we cure him?" Artemis asked while lacing her boots tight.

"Perhaps. I fear that the nature of the infection potentially altered his curse of Achilles. The curse possibly strengthened due to the trauma of being violated, possibly covering his weak point, or destroying the Achilles point entirely. If his skin is completely impenetrable, we may not be able to do anything to help him," Athena answered grimly.

Without another word, Artemis took off after Jackson. The Huntress must be insane to follow that beast.

**Third Person**

Artemis pursued Percy, but didn't know what she would do when she caught him. His tracks vanished amongst thousands of other tracks in the Rocky Mountains. Artemis had tracked monsters in these towering monuments of stone before, and it wasn't easy, even for her. But she always caught her prey in the end.

The Wolf inside had gained complete control, and it feared nothing, as nothing could harm it. Not humans, not bears, not monsters, and not immortals. Why should it? Ares, the mighty war-god, pissed his pants in fear of the Wolf's strength and ferocity. While it did not intentionally hunt humans, the Wolf also never hesitated to kilhe anything, no matter what species it was.

Artemis followed the trail of carcasses and bodies that the Wolf left behind. It was fast. Far faster than the moon-goddess. She would have to catch it when it rested. Or when it fed.

The hunters were sent to camp, since they would be unable to track this beast, or aid in its capture. Thalia wasn't happy, but she at least knew what was going on, unlike any other demigod or mortal. Annabeth was searching everywhere, despite numerous warnings against it, but would likely never find Percy.

After all, it took weeks for Artemis to find Percy. Not the Wolf, mind you, but Percy, in human form.

**Percy POV**

I sat next to a creek in some pitiful loincloth I scraped together from some of the Wolf's kills. My clothes were intact, but I threw them away. Clothes are for men, and I'm a monster. Maybe I should borrow some underwear from the Minotaur?

I smelled her long before she could see me, and I saw her before she knew she was close. She had her bow in a tight grip, but didn't have an arrow ready to fire.

"By all means, Artemis, please try to kill me. I tried to kill myself and failed after I killed the first hunter. My Achilles spot is your best shot, if you think you can succeed where I didn't. It is in the small of my back," I said, tapping the point. "You might want to know, though, that the beast takes over every time I tried to kill myself," I said. My senses are heightened to incredible extremes when I am the Wolf, but they are still far better than normal when I take the form of a man, so I found no difficulty at all in detecting her.

"Why do you want to die? There might something we can do for you," she said. I looked at her, surprised that she didn't get angry because I didn't use her title.

"How long have I been like this?" I asked, in place of answering.

"Nearly a month. Answer my question," she said.

"Why did you follow me?" I asked.

"Because I thought we might be able to help you. Now answer my question," she responded a bit harshly.

"How is my mother?" I asked.

"I wouldn't know! I've spent the last month tracking you, so the least you could do is answer my damn question!" she demanded. I smiled. That is more like Artemis.

"I want to die so I won't kill anymore," I answered quietly after a few moments.

"Why do you let the beast kill people?" she demanded in response, still pretty huffy.

"Because it is stronger than I am, and I can't stop it!" I shouted. "When I first shifted, we were about evenly matched, but when the curse set in, the Wolf's power surpassed my strength of will. Even in the beast's infancy, the Wolf broke Ares' sword! When I become the Wolf, I get set into the backseat, and he drives around until he gets tired of being in charge! The ONLY thing you could do to help is to kill me, but I'm not sure if that is even possible," I shouted, resigned to my fate.

**Third Person**

Artemis wanted to be angry, but couldn't find the anger anywhere within herself. Percy remained where he was when she entered the small clearing, and she paced around. Finally, Artemis asked, "You really want me to kill you?"

"If you can. Just know that if you fail, you need to run, or flash away, and quickly, because He will come out, and He will be angry," Percy responded quietly. "If you succeed, say it was self-defense, and that my last words to my dad and mom were 'I'm sorry'."

"Have you found out when the beast takes over?" Artemis asked.

"Yea," Percy said with a bitter laugh. "I transform with the full moon, just like in the movies. Maybe the wolf has a sense of humor, or maybe it actually is affected by the moon. Difference between me and the movies: I don't turn back until the Wolf feels like it, as I said earlier."

"The next full moon is in one week. You need to find yourself far away from civilization by then," Artemis said.

"So you're not going to kill me?" Percy asked, surprised that the Huntress was letting a monster live. A small, nearly imperceptible smirk appeared on the Goddess of the Moon's face.

"Athena seems to think that your Achilles curse has grown stronger and covered your weak spot. If that is the case, and based on what you've told me then it is, then only someone with immense strength could kill you, and they would have to pummel you so hard that your insides were crushed. I somehow doubt that even if I am strong enough to do so, that I could manage to kill you before the Wolf comes out. And if I try, and fail, I don't want a rampaging werewolf killing without reason and running around the country. Besides," Artemis said with a much more visible smirk, "I never caught up to you." With that, Artemis flashed away, presumably to her hunters or Olympus.

Percy trained his eyes on the goddess, hoping he would cease to exist because he witnessed an immortal's divine form. His eyesight went dark and his brain recoiled in pain, resulting in unconsciousness. But Percy woke up three hours later no worse for wear. Letting loose a frustrated scream, Percy punched and kicked a nearby stone in his rage, drawing the attention of the nearby dryads. Percy had become an immortal, and nearly invincible, monster.

**AN:** So what do y'all think? Personally, I like it. If you liked it, be sure to leave and review and follow this story. You may also want to check out my other stories through my profile. My classes are starting to slow down, and, after this weekend, I will be able to update much more often. See ya!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**AN:** Well I think that last chapter was pretty good, yea? I really appreciate my first few reviewers: The Last Son of Chaos, Kenny239, TheNuttySquirrel, RedNebulosity, 1lyndon, Avardsin, and ChaoticTwist. Thanks so much!

**TEN YEARS LATER**

**Percy POV**

Over that first, dark decade, I discovered several things about myself while I was in the wilderness. First of all, I realized I still had my demigod powers, and they've gotten stronger. Now, I'm not sure if that was because I had grown older, or if it was directly tied to my, ah, let's go with new nature. Secondly, I discovered that the "Wolf" that controlled my actions was nothing more than my own instincts as a werewolf. Granted, they did control my actions entirely for several years, and I still haven't completely suppressed the animalistic urges. After I figured that out, I reached a shocking, and final, realization: I liked it. The enhanced senses, the incredible strength, and even the savagery of the hunt. At some point, I realized I was stuck like this, and somehow came to peace with myself. In other words, I embraced the beast I became.

From then on, everything got easier. When I stopped fighting myself, I gained control over nearly everything. On a kind of weird note, I ran into Lycaon and his pack shortly after I reached that epiphany. Arrogant and foolish, Lycaon attempted to order me around. Of course, that wasn't going to work for me, so our meeting didn't end well for him. That is when I discovered I wasn't the same type of werewolf as the fallen king. Of course, I was far stronger than him, but that wasn't everything. He had total control of himself, while I still remained as a slave to the moon, which I discovered when he turned back to a human under the full moon, a thing I just couldn't do. I don't know why that is, but maybe Atlas or Ares could explain. Maybe they created the wolf that attacked and infected me, and one of them viewed my curse as a different, for lack of a better word, breed of werewolf. I'll have to ask Athena, or some other "expert," I thought.

I decided around six months ago that I would try to find my mom, and let her know that I wasn't dead, or something. I figured Poseidon probably stopped by and told her what happened, or at least told her that I wasn't dead, but I wanted to see her, and I trusted myself enough to not hurt her and Paul, or any other, um, siblings that might be running around. So I left the mountains I had been roaming and hiding in. But, as I approached the less wild parts of America, the scent in the air didn't change at all, unlike how I expected it to. At some point, I stumbled upon a small town just outside of the mountains, and frankly, I was shocked. Everything that looked man-made or cultured had been taken over by the nature around it. People were not dressed much better than I was, and I wore a nasty pelt from one of my kills. Their clothes had holes and tears all over them, and their shoes, if they had any, were broken down and nearly useless. Initially, I planned to pick up some new clothes, so I wouldn't look too much like I had lived in the mountains for the past ten years, but that wasn't going to happen when these people don't have nice clothes of their own.

But that was just the start. I thought that maybe the economy had just gotten worse and that town had fallen from grace. I thought the same thing with the next few small towns. Then I realized that all of the small towns were like this. The railroads had fallen into disrepair, and even a few major cities had been taken over by the earth surrounding them. The country looked like it had stepped back four hundred years, if it hadn't been for the vine covered buildings throughout the area. Apparently, Mother Nature had taken back what had once been hers, I thought. At the time, I didn't realize how accurate that statement had been.

When I reached New York, relief flooded my mind when it hadn't been taken over in a similar manner. It still wasn't the same as it had been, but the plants hadn't taken everything over. Just some of the outlying areas, and Central Park. The Big Apple had fared better than everywhere else I had been, but it still suffered from whatever happened while I was gone. Which led me to ask, and not for the first time, what happened while I was gone. I decided I would ask my mom. She would probably know, and if not, then Chiron, or someone else at camp would.

I walked to our old apartment, because I didn't know where else mom and Paul would be, and found the entire area had fallen to rubble. I dug through the rubble of our old building for a while, freaking out the entire time, but after a bit of time passed I realized two things: one, that if she was in this pile of rubble, she is dead, because this obviously didn't happen recently, and two, I could ask Nico if she was dead, assuming, of course, that he is still alive.

I turned around, and checked the area around me for any possible observers. When I saw nobody, I began to transform into the wolf. My bones cracked and stretched, as my muscles rippled to accommodate my larger size. I grew nearly a foot and a half. Fur sprung from everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. My skull elongated and my teeth lengthened and sharpened. The pain involved with the transformation had nearly disappeared within the last few years. I don't know for sure if I had simply grown accustomed to it, or if the pain actually went away entirely, for some reason.

Unable to resist the urge, I let loose an ear-splitting howl after the process finished, and then took off toward where I knew Camp Half-blood was. The wind ripped through my fur, but as fast as I traveled, my mind ran faster. And that's saying something. What happened while I was gone? The world had apparently changed drastically. Monsters seemed more abundant than before, but they either recognized me as one of their own, or they feared me, as they should. If any monster came too close to me as I ran, I killed it faster than it could retreat to safety. Normally, I had more, um, let's go with "fun" with monsters when I encountered them, but I was a man-beast on a mission right then.

I feared I would experience difficulty getting into camp because of the borders, or because of Peleus, but the borders didn't hinder me, and Peleus wasn't there. I think that was when I first got worried. The forest had grown substantially, so I couldn't see anything at a distance, and it took me awhile to find anything. The first thing I found confused me. It was a half-finished statue of Zeus someone was making, just left in the middle of nowhere. I figured I was fairly close to the cabins now, and reverted back to my human form. I sighed as my senses dulled and the strength in my limbs vanished. It's occasionally hard to return to this form, simply because it doesn't feel as powerful as the wolf does, even though I know they are just powerful in different ways. Let me explain. My strictly physical strength and my senses are elevated to extremes as the wolf, but I don't have very good control over my demigod powers. I generally don't think as clearly either, but it often doesn't matter. Because my demigod powers had gotten stronger, the balance of power between the two forms was still there.

I looked up to the sky after a moment, so I could try and find out what direction I was heading in. After that, I headed off toward where I thought the cabins were. The lack of campers unsettled me, but I assumed they had paths they forged so they could travel easier. As it stands, it wouldn't be easy for someone to navigate in this thick forest if they weren't used to it. I chuckled then as I thought about what Capture the Flag must look like now: more campers getting lost than fighting or finding the enemy flag. After a moment, I stepped on something hard, and then looked down to find a heavily dented shield under my feet. A few gashes decorated the face, with the jagged edges right next to my foot. I was lucky that I didn't step on the edge. I decided to pick the shield up and look at it. I realized after a moment that the gashes were caused by a very, very large spear being shoved straight through it, unlike my initial thought that it was a Hellhound attack. That puzzled me even more, but not as much as it scared me. There aren't many beings that can wield a spear that large. I dropped the shield, and picked up my pace.

I took a deep breath, hoping that might have helped me figure out where I was in reference to the sea. But what filled my nostrils wasn't the comforting scent of my favorite place. Instead, the smell of ashes and Greek fire filled my senses, which set me into a panic. I sprinted toward the foul odor as fast as I could, which, unlike when I was just a demigod, was ridiculously fast. I stopped when I came to a very rare clearing, but I wish I never found it. In the clearing, a pile of large slabs of stone rested, stacked on top of each other haphazardly. Those stones were the remains of my cabin. That was when I really freaked out.

"HEY! Is there anybody here! HELLO!" I shouted. After I found my cabin, the rest soon followed. Most were just a pile of wood or stone, and one or two I couldn't identify. Pieces of the Zeus cabin had been dragged all over the area, and I didn't know where it once stood, because even my old cabin seemed like it had been moved. "HEY!" I called one more time. After nobody responded, I growled, then morphed into the wolf. I think the only being that might be able to track better than me would have to be Artemis. If I can't find anyone in wolf form, then they must all be dead. My senses sharpened, and the scent of the destroyed cabins flooded my brain for a moment before I could tune it out.

Once I managed to block out the terrible smell, I took a deep sniff and tried to find the distinct scent that demigods carry. I picked up something, but it was far off. Several miles away, or further. Even so, I followed the faint scent, hoping that at the end of the trail I would find someone that I knew. Everything about my recent discoveries ran through my mind, and I found no answers. Camp had been destroyed. That much was obvious. Now, I didn't know how that happened. We just defeated the Titans! What else could have come after us? It looks like the gods have abandoned the country. Could the Flame of the West have shifted somewhere else while I was gone? But where would they go? Any farther west, and you end up in the Far East. I would have to go back to New York and see if Mount Olympus is still over the Empire State Building.

The scent I had been following had gotten progressively stronger, as it always does, but it suddenly hit me full force. I froze immediately, and turned my head to the source. Standing there, pale as death, was Connor Stoll. His sword was in his hand when I first spied him, but when we met eyes, he dropped the blade, and then turned and ran. I sprinted in front of him to cut him off, and growled at him. He wet his pants, then fell onto the ground. Now that I knew he wasn't running, I decided I could turn back into a human. My bones snapped and shrunk, and the black fur vanished back underneath my skin. I let out a few growls despite myself. Connor was still cowering with his eyes closed on the ground when I finished transforming. "Hey, Connor, it's alright man. It's just me, Percy. I'm not going to hurt you," I said slowly. He cracked open one eye, and moments later, both eyes snapped open.

"By the gods! What happened to you? Nevermind, don't answer that. Where have you been? We needed you!" He cried.

"I've been learning how to deal with that," I said, indicating the tracks I left in the ground. "Now, I need you to tell me what happened to camp. Where is everyone? What did I miss when I was in the wild?" Connor shook his head. He didn't seem to know if he should trust me, a monster.

"Perce, I don't know where to start. I think you better come with me. If anybody can help, you can, even if you are a, uh," he said, but I cut him off.

"A monster?" I asked harshly. I was afraid this would happen.

"NO!" he yelled. I could smell his fear, but he did well at hiding it.

"Who survived?" I asked after following him for a moment. He sighed, and seemed really upset.

"Not many people. Everyone who did survive is scattered across the country. Only four of my brothers are still alive," he said. I could tell based on his face, but I still needed to confirm, just to be sure.

"Travis?" I asked. He turned his head as unbidden tears sprung to his eyes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. He nodded his head, and forged ahead. I was too afraid to ask about my mother and Annabeth right then.

"We knew you weren't dead. Your father made that very clear before everything went to Hades. We didn't know for a while if you were still kicking somewhere until just recently," Connor said.

"How did you know I was alive recently?" I asked.

"Because I told them," someone said. The scent in the area quickly turned to a stench similar to that of a graveyard, and the shadows seemed to grow. I turned to see the speaker.

"Nico," I said with a smile. Then he punched me.

**AN:** There we go! Be sure to let me know what you thought. Feed the writing beast inside of me! Thanks for reading! BYE!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**AN:** Thanks for all of the awesome reviews! Sorry for the slight cliffhanger, if that bothered you, but, hey, it kept you reading didn't it? On with the story!

**Percy POV**

"Nico," I said with a smile. Then he punched me.

I involuntarily let out a feral growl in reaction. "I wouldn't do that, Nico," Connor said nervously as he made space between himself and me.

After a moment, I managed to ask, "What in Hades was that for?" My blood surged angrily through my veins, but I managed to push the wolf side down.

"What do you mean, 'what was that for?'" He asked in return. "Do you have any idea what has happened? Where were you when we needed you, huh?" Nico demanded. I took a good look at him. It shocked me how much he had grown. The almost shrimp-like kid I remember had been replaced by a six foot tall, buff copy of Hades. It shocked me how much he resembled his father now, including the aura of dark power Hades carried.

"No, Nico," I sighed. "I have absolutely no idea what happened while I was gone. As for where I was, well I don't really know, but if I had been here during whatever happened, I would have more than likely caused more harm than good."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He demanded. "You're the greatest hero alive, and you say that if you were here things would have been worse?" He was angry, confused, angry, frustrated, and angry. Did I mention he was angry? And that made me angry.

A brutal growl erupted from my throat that was far too wolf-like for Connor and Nico's safety. "I figured the gods would keep the truth hidden, but do not question my loyalty to you and to Camp Half-blood. You want to know why I wasn't here? You want to know why I would have made the problem worse?" I demanded. Nico stepped back a bit with eyes wide when the growl jumped out. He recovered after a moment.

"Yea, and it better be a damn good excuse!" he said, with the anger still lacing his voice. I took a deep breath so I wouldn't end up showing him the hard way. As pissed off as I am now, I can't guarantee that I won't hurt anyone.

"I'm a danger to everyone, both then and now, because I am a werewolf," I said with a deadly calm in my tone. Nico seemed to consider for a second.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" he asked. Finally, Connor spoke up.

"He isn't kidding. That is how he found us, I think. He sniffed me out when I was on watch, and nearly gave me a heart attack, because he was this huge wolf. Even on all fours, he was bigger than I was," Connor said, desperately hoping to avoid a fight. Nico deflated.

"You still have a lot of explaining to do," he said before turning around, gesturing for us to follow. "And we'll get you some decent clothes," he muttered before he stepped down into a small tunnel.

Once I was underground, my eyes adjusted quickly, and I saw around ten more people, other than the three of us. A few of them I recognized, but never really got introduced to, and the rest of the group was completely new to me. Nico cleared his throat and everyone turned to see me. Everyone that recognized me instantly looked torn between confusion, excitement, and a bit of anger. "Get the man some clothes," he said. "And stop staring, I told you he was alive, didn't I? He will explain everything to me, and I'll give you the highpoints, if you like. Oh, and try not to piss him off."

Five minutes later, I had a really old CHB t-shirt on, and a pair of slightly torn cargo shorts. They didn't have any shoes that would fit me, but considering I went ten years without shoes, I would survive. "Hungry?" Nico asked. I shook my head.

"Nope, just ate an entire deer this morning," I said. It came out a lot weirder than I thought it would, and Nico's eyes bugged out for a moment. He shook his head, then shifted forward in his seat.

"Alright, explain everything you know about your newfound curse and the last ten years of your life, and I will tell you about what you missed," Nico said. There wasn't any uncertainty in his voice, and he left no room for argument. Not that I had a reason to argue.

"Okay, well, it's a long story," I began. "Basically, Ares and Atlas got together, and they decided they would turn me into a werewolf for some reason. I think they wanted some kind of ironic justice because I would be hunted down as a monster. Anyway, it backfired, because they couldn't control me, for some reason, and I broke Ares' sword and ran." I paused for a moment, considering whether I should tell him about Artemis or not.

"Tell me everything," he said before I decided. I gave him a questioning look, and he said, "I've gotten really good at reading people Percy. I had to in order to survive. Back to the story."

As a small smirk appeared on his face, I began once more. "Well, I ran off before the Olympians showed up to kill me for attacking Ares, who pissed his pants, by the way. After that the wolf side of me dominated for a long time. About a month later I was resting in a clearing with this stream in it, when Artemis caught up to me."

"So Artemis did find you?" Nico asked. But he didn't sound surprised. Instead, he seemed like he thought that is what happened all along.

"Um, yea. Anyway, she had apparently been tracking me for the whole month. I asked her to kill me, because I had killed a few hunters as the wolf, but I warned her that when I tried to kill myself that it just backfired, and the wolf got let out again. So she decided to let me live and pretend that she never caught me," I said. I paused for a moment to take a breath.

"Go on," Nico said.

"Yea, so over the next ten years I finally got control over my wolf side, and I just now left the mountains to see my mom," I trailed off at that point, and glanced at Nico, who had a frown on his face now.

"She and Paul are dead," he said, answering my unspoken question. I bowed my head.

"How?" I whispered after a moment.

"Monster attack. It was vengeance upon you for defeating Kronos when the enemy gained enough power. I'll explain more in a minute. Tell me about this werewolf curse," he said.

I cleared my throat, and, as I tried to wrap my head around the idea that I would never see my mom again, I began to talk. "Well, I still have my curse of Achilles, and my vulnerable spot can't be penetrated by anything but silver, but I still can't kill myself, and the spot isn't as essential as before, so I can't be brushed and get killed. So I'm practically impossible to kill. I don't really know much about the nature of this werewolf thing, but I'm not the same kind of werewolf as Lycaon and his pack," I said.

"I wish you knew more about this," Nico said.

"The only people who could offer answers would probably be Atlas and Ares, and possibly Athena," I said. "Now, you tell me what I missed."

Nico took a deep breath, and muttered something under his breath. "Well, my story is longer than yours, I think. Where to start? Well, when Ares and Atlas made you into a werewolf, it broke the Great Prophecy that Rachel gave, and killed the Spirit of Delphi. Don't worry, Rachel is still alive, although she is slightly less sane," he said. I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, she hasn't gone the way of Mrs Castellan, but she still spouts nonsense about the future somehow, and she still paints the future, like she did before she was Oracle. Anyway, it turns out that you were such a huge part of the Prophecy of Seven that when you weren't able to participate, the Fates plan, as determined to the Oracle, crumbled. They are still recovering from the event, but they've mostly gotten themselves together. I think that might be why you're back, but I may just be a little too hopeful. Before I continue, you need to know a little more back story, or you won't get this next part.

"So, apparently, when the gods moved from Greece to Rome, they didn't just take different names, they became entirely different people. Their children are completely different from Greek demigods. For instance, they naturally read latin, and their version of Camp Half-blood is more like a military base. Anyway, over the course of history, starting at Troy, Greek and Roman demigods have fought each other. The American Civil War was basically a result of a war between us and the Romans. After that, the gods decided to separate us once and for all. They erased all memories we had of each other, and used to mist to obscure us from each other, to avoid another war.

"Alright, so Hera had this plan that supposedly would have saved us all. In essence, she was going to switch the the main leader of the Roman camp, Jason Grace, a son of Jupiter, and Thalia's full brother, with you in an effort to bring the two camps together. We don't know how well that would've worked, but it was something. I think I know who most of the seven demigods were, but I might be wrong. It doesn't matter now, so I won't bother telling you.

"So, after Hera explained her plan to the Olympians, Athena came up with a similar plan that would try to ensure our survival anyway, despite the prophecy getting broken. Unfortunately, because Athena has a grudge that I would be proud of against the Romans, she made a mistake in her plans, simply because she wanted the Romans to have to do as much of the work as possible. Her rage obscured her logic, and so the Romans suffered. I don't know where on their journey, but the legion was attacked by the forces of Gaea, Mother Earth herself, the city of New Rome that they usually protect was burned to the ground by another army. Normally, the Roman legion could have taken on a force of monsters far larger than that which attacked them, but Alcyoneus, a giant son of Gaea, had Thanatos chained, and the Doors of Death had been opened. As a result, the monster army never truly died. They would get cut down, only to reform moments later. A similar army attacked our camp, and destroyed almost everything, scattering us in the process. I don't know where the Romans were ambushed, but I know from the last time I talked with Thalia that they are still alive somewhere. Maybe we'll find them eventually. The fates know we need all the strength we can get if we want to survive at all.

"After Gaea destroyed the strength of the demigods, she had a large force attack the original Mount Olympus, where they destroyed the roots of the Olympian's powers. She had to spill a male and a female demigod's blood somewhere, as part of the process," he said. He paused here and looked me in the eyes. This can't be good. "Annabeth was the girl Gaea sacrificed." I closed my eyes to keep the tears from falling. "The boy was a powerful son of Hephaestus named Leo. I wish you could have met the kid. As brilliant and talented as Beckendorf was, Leo put him to shame. I think the only person who could build things better than Leo could was Hephaestus himself. Leo was also the first son of Hephaestus with the gift of fire-wielding in many years." Nico patted my back awkwardly to try and comfort me.

"Is nobody left? Annabeth and my mom are dead. Who else is dead?" I asked helplessly.

"Too many people, Percy. Far too many people have died trying to defend themselves and those they loved. Things were so bad this time that Olympus didn't get a chance to cross our minds. Our only goal was to not get killed," Nico said.

"What did the gods do about it?" I asked, with a slight edge to my voice.

"They did everything they could, for once. But, because of the ancient laws, they couldn't do much. They couldn't fight the giants without the demigods, so they didn't stand much of a chance. If they fought, they got captured. A few gods are still free, like my father; his giant won't leave Alaska, since Alcyoneus is invincible there. Most of the Olympians have been captured. I don't know where they are, or whether or not they're being tortured, or just held prisoner," Nico said sadly. My anger flared after the situation set in.

"What hope is left?" I asked angrily. "Why would this happen? What have we been doing to turn this around?" I demanded of him. He frowned and shook his head.

"Percy, we can't think about turning things around. What few of us remain can only focus on surviving," Nico almost whispered. A feral growl exploded from my chest, and I nearly turned wolf right there. Nico stumbled back, shocked by my sudden rage, and put his hand on his sword out of habit.

I came within inches of Nico. "I can't accept that," I said dangerously.. I turned and began to walk out of the hideout. Nico ran after me. I turned my head and spoke to everyone sitting in there. "I'll be back. I need some answers. We'll get our lives back, if I have to pry it from Gaea's earthen hands." With that, I climbed the rest of the way out of the bunker, and passed by Connor.

"Hey, where are you going, dude?" he asked.

"To Mount Othrys. Atlas and I need to have a little talk," I said before I transformed and took off.

**AN: **Well, Percy is mad, and on a mission. Things are getting fun for me now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you think! You guys have been so amazing with how many favorites, alerts, and reviews you've left me. I've had such an awesome time counting all of the emails I've gotten, and checking out the traffic stats. None of this would be possible without you guys, so thanks again!


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Hey! Glad you guys have enjoyed the story so far! I'm enjoying writing it for you, so we're meshing really, really well. Here is some more food for your reading appetite.

**Chapter 4**

**Percy POV**

The trip across the country went much faster than it did before. I think it's because I was beyond pissed off for a long time, and that anger fueled my limbs. I never left my wolf form the entire time. The thick forests did nothing to impede my progress, and the roving bands of monsters died within seconds. Everything on the trip to Mount Othrys was a blur. I forced my rage down as I approached the stronghold. If I didn't I would've attacked senselessly, and I wouldn't have gotten anything done. I need answers, and Atlas is the first source of information. He will lead me to other sources, or he will know pain like none but an immortal can know.

As I examined the mountainside, with monsters swarming all over, I realized how fortified this place was. Hundreds and thousands of monsters ran drills and practiced. This was a well-trained, standing army. Confused about how I would manage to get past all of the monsters, I reached the epiphany that they likely wouldn't attack me for no reason, because I am a monster myself. At that thought, for the first time since my transformation, I was glad that I was a monster. Slowly, I stood up on my hind legs, where I tower at nearly nine feet tall, so I could get a better view. One thing that I got good at over the past decade was being a monster. So, I opted to just walk right in like I owned the place.

I released an ear-splitting howl that echoed across the entire mountainside, before I dropped to all fours and sprinted toward the mountain stronghold, only slowing when the guards got edgy at my approach. Then I stood up again, making it clear I was a monster, and not going to attack them, at first. They still seemed cautious, but they let me pass.

I couldn't keep the feral grin off my wolfish face, and that severely unsettled the guards, who see every sort of terrifying monster; that does a lot for a dude's pride. I earned curious looks from every nearby monster. Why wouldn't I attract attention? I was towering over almost every monster here, and the monsters that I didn't tower over were either so shocked to see something my size that wasn't their species that they had no words to say, or they were too dumb to think anything of it. One monster, a large cyclops, managed to gather the courage needed to approach me.

"What is this thingy?" it asked the other monsters. Maybe it was just dumb, and not brave.

"It'sss a wolf of sssome sssort," a Scythian Dracanae answered. "And a large one at that." I chuckled audibly, making a menacing rumble, which sounded like a growl, radiate from my chest.

"Get back, fools!" someone ordered. The monsters surrounding me quickly backed off at his command. I had to restrain myself from growling when I recognized Hyperion as he stepped up to me. "You are a man-beast, are you not? A werewolf?" he asked. I merely stood taller and bared my teeth. "And a rather foolish one as well," Hyperion mumbled to himself. "Apparently Lycaon didn't manage to bring his whole pack back again. I'm sure the moron will recognize you." I knew Lycaon would recognize me. He doesn't know that I am a demigod, but he knows that I am no friend of his. I shook my head at the Titan, hoping he wouldn't try and present me to him. I wasn't planning on fighting yet, and if I ran into the supposed "King of Werewolves," there would be a lot of blood.

"Ah, you understand me!" Hyperion exclaimed. "Well, you're smarter than Lycaon then!" he shouted with a deep, dark laugh following. "Leave that form, and introduce yourself to me. A fine specimen such as yourself can be of great use to us in our hunt for the last demigods."

My rage exploded without warning, and I backhanded the Titan, sending him flying into the monsters nearby. I roared menacingly, then jumped clear over the fifty or so monsters, and into the Garden of the Hesperides. I startled two of the Hesperides, and, unfortunately, caught Ladon's attention.

"Get that werewolf!" I heard Hyperion scream. "And bring me his head on a spike!" I answered his challenge with a howl that sent the two Hesperides running, and made Ladon roar back. The massive Drakon charged me, all one-hundred heads snapping at me and spitting acid. I did the only thing that made sense to me at the time. I roared and charged at one of the most powerful monsters in the world. _I am Alpha! _I thought to myself. Looking back, I think I let my wolf side get a little bit out of control.

I jumped over a pool of acid, and pushed past his horrible breath, dodging every drop of flying venom and weaving out of reach of several snapping heads. Ladon tripped me with one of his necks, and I quickly turned around and latched onto his flesh, my sharp teeth and powerful jaws easily tearing through his scales. The great beast recoiled, sending me flying into the Tree of Golden Apples with a huge chunk of Drakon flesh in my now bloody mouth. I threw the foul meat from my mouth and shook my head to clear the haze from my brain after the impact. Meanwhile, Ladon sprinted full tilt at me. He was the picture of rage. Apparently, I'm a bit too close to his tree. Dashing around the tree to break his line of sight, I quickly reversed my direction and lunged underneath the beast. As I clawed at his belly, I viciously tore massive pieces of flesh out of Ladon. His blood poured all over me and soaked the ground below as he screeched and roared in tremendous pain. Quickly, I dove out from underneath him to avoid being crushed. He snatched me into the air with one of his heads, but before he could tear my limbs apart with his other heads, I brutally attacked his eyes and face; he dropped me. I jumped onto his back, just at the base of his numerous necks, and ripped open gaping wounds and severed muscles, ligaments, and tendons in several of his necks. Another head reached around and picked me up, but this one wasted no time in trying to bite me in half. Of course, that just resulted in Ladon breaking his teeth, and roaring in pain again. I mangled another one of Ladon's heads that attempted to kill me painfully, before I dove underneath the great monster again.

I pushed up with all my tremendous strength, and forced him onto his side. The tree he guarded did not cross his mind as he tried to escape from my wrath. I tore away at tendons in his legs, and quickly rushed out from underneath the critically wounded monster as he rolled toward me in an attempt to crush me. I bit and scratched at him, and he tried to escape. But he couldn't stand up, so Ladon rolled away from me, screeching and roaring in pain the entire time. He ran into one of the many large trees, and got wedged in between two other trees. He couldn't escape, and his belly was facing me once more. I couldn't contain myself as I laughed. The Fates finally decided that they favored me for once, and I took full advantage of my good fortune. Brutally, I drove my clawed hands into his partially exposed guts and painfully yanked them out, all while Ladon tried to get away from me in vain. All one-hundred of his deadly heads wriggled in pain everywhere on the ground as I roared in victory. My bloodlust could not quelled. I had proven my dominance over Ladon, who whimpered as the Hesperides desperately tended to him. He would be brought back from Tartarus quickly, but his death at my hand struck fear into even Hyperion himself.

After a brief, wolfish grin of satisfaction, I dashed up the mountain toward where Atlas would hopefully be. Hyperion chased after me, yelling and shooting fire from his hands, but I paid him no heed, initially. But, every other Titan in the area would be on my tail in moments if Hyperion kept it up, so I turned on him. He blasted me with a tremendous fireball, but it did nothing to me besides knocking me back a few feet. I roared in his face, and his whole demeanor changed when he realized how powerless he was against me in my bloodlust-filled state. I realized my skin was glowing red, similar to how Clarisse glowed during the Battle for Manhattan. I doubt that Ares blessed me, though. While Hyperion was still stunned, I grabbed him and threw him back down the mountain, before I sprinted up to the very top where Atlas once resided.

Upon seeing his hulking form still struggling underneath the burden of the sky, I was incredibly pleased. A low growl rumbled from my throat as I approached him. Ladon's blood still dripped from my fur, and my teeth and claws were still decorated with his flesh. I strode in front of Atlas, who looked up at me. With eyes wide, Atlas opened his mouth hesitantly. "Who are you?" he asked. Atlas is significantly smarter than most of his brethren, and, as a result, he instantly recognized the intelligence and intent in my eyes.

As I transformed before his eyes, I smiled sadistically. "What? You mean you don't recognize me, Atlas? That hurts," I said. His eyes drifted over my shed fur, soaked in blood, on the ground.

"Why are you here, Perseus?" he asked carefully. I frowned.

"I thought we were buddies, Atlas? All of my friends call me Percy," I said. A moment later, a punched his jaw hard enough to break it.

"Fool! Do you want the sky to fall upon your head?" Atlas asked harshly.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll make sure that any wounds I inflict won't make holding the sky impossible," I replied with a deadly edge to my voice. "But I think I might make things a bit harder on you before I leave." Atlas smirked, and my grin wavered briefly.

"How many innocents have you killed? Is that why you're here? To punish me?" Atlas asked smugly.

"More innocents have died at my hands than even you would care to know about, Atlas. And, before you ask, I regret having their blood staining my soul. But, I've paid my debts by killing off hundreds and thousands of monsters, including your precious Ladon," I said, gesturing to the blood on the ground beneath me. "But I am here for something much more valuable to me than vengeance," I said. I put my face within inches of his own. "Answers."

"You want to know why Ares and I turned you into a werewolf? You are every bit as stupid as I believed," Atlas retorted. I backhanded him harshly, sending a resounding crack through the area.

"I'm not here to ask such a worthless question. Reasons or motives mean nothing to me anymore, only the results matter. What I want to know, you arrogant tyrant, is what you and Ares did to make me stronger than Lycaon could ever hope to be. I want to know if that was a mistake. I want to know everything," I said.

"And what if I don't tell you?" he asked. I grinned dangerously.

"Let's just say that I will, ah, convince you," I answered menacingly. He actually paled, which shocked me in all honesty.

"Well, where to begin? For the most part, I guided the power that went into constructing our agent as Ares wouldn't have know how to create anything so complex. I devised the way to get past your curse. Ares defined a different form of the werewolf curse than that which Lycaon was given. He wanted you to be stronger so you would kill more of your friends. We couldn't take away your weakness to silver, but that hardly matters with your invulnerability. Ares said he wanted you to be more like a werewolf he saw in some ridiculous mortal movie. All that mattered to me was ensuring you were strong enough to kill demigods, and that, if you somehow managed to not kill one of your victims, you would infect them with lycanthropy. Even so, with all of the excess power Ares thought was necessary, you were far more powerful than either of us initially thought you would be. But that was obvious. Neither of us could control you, if you don't remember. What you probably remember, but don't understand the significance of, is that you broke Ares' sword, his symbol of power. This, of course, weakened the already pathetic fool, but I think more than that happened. I think that when you broke his sword, you absorbed some of his power, and that is why you've been able to make it up here to me. I doubt that you will get down alive, however," Atlas said.

"Don't be so sure, Atlas," I replied. "I'm getting out of here, if I have to kill every Titan and monster on this godsforsaken mountain. What makes you so sure I won't anyway? Is your loving family going to have a change of heart and decide to let you out of your unfortunate position so you can stop me? I doubt it," I said.

"Titans and monsters won't stop you. But I don't think even you can manage to get past a giant without a god standing beside you," Atlas said with a smirk. I heard a deep chuckle echo off the mountain, and I turned to see a thirty-foot tall being with golden armor and dragon legs standing behind me.

"This is the great Perseus Jackson that defeated Kronos? The Titan Lord must have been weaker than I thought," he said. He shook his head at Kronos' weakness, sending his dreadlocks waving.

"Well, I've established that literally everyone knows my name at this point, so who in Hades are you?" I asked, turning my back on Atlas. I was done with him anyway.

"I am Enceladus, the Bane of Athena!" he proclaimed.

"Good for you, dude, now move out of my way, before I make it look like a butcher had a field day on you," I retorted. Enceladus frowned, and a huge spear appeared in his right hand.

"Those are big words for a demigod, even one such as you, who has no god standing beside him. Maybe you don't get it yet. You can't kill me, or any of my brethren, without the aid of a god," he said. I smirked as I began to transform.

"There are worse fates than death, Enceladus," I said as my bones restructured themselves. Moments later, I stood in front of the giant with three more feet of height, one hundred and fifty more pounds of muscle, and a whole shipload of more ferocity. He jabbed at me with surprising speed, and I just barely managed to dodge. The spot where his spear impacted instantly became a crater large enough that I could step into, and not be able to see out of. I shouldn't spend too much time trying to beat this guy. I need to outrun him, this time.

I sprinted toward him as quickly as I could, and swiped at the back of his knees as I passed, before I took off down the mountain, weaving through thousands of monsters that avoided me at all costs. The guards tried to stop me, but I charged straight through them, shattering their spears and and snapping a few limbs.

After I sprinted for nearly a half-hour straight, I turned back towards New York. Shortly after I began my return journey to Connor and Nico's hideout, I allowed myself to think about everything Atlas said. Not all of my questions got answered, but only Ares could answer the rest of them. Two things stuck out in my mind. First, I had somehow, according to Atlas, absorbed some of Ares' power, although I don't know how much of it I absorbed. That could explain the red glow I noticed when Hyperion confronted me, and how I managed to beat Ladon. I'm powerful in this form, but to defeat such a powerful beast, I had to have an extra benefit. Apparently, the power of a war-god fit that bill. Secondly, Atlas stated that he wanted me to be able to infect people. That led me to ask a question. Have I already infected some people? That, in turn, led to the realization that I could build a pack. A pack of werewolves, even mildly similar to me, would be immensely powerful, and a huge benefit to our cause, assuming I could control them, of course. So, how do I know if I can keep newly created werewolf under control? I had to run an experiment, as cruel as it sounded. Only one person came to mind that I think could control himself: Nico di Angelo.

**AN: **Well, there you go, my friends. I hope you enjoyed it! This was fun to write. Personally, I've always wanted to see Ladon get thrashed. Did I pull it off well? Don't worry about Percy becoming overpowered. What power he has will be desperately needed in the future. He may not even have enough power, but I promise he won't be getting more, if that is your concern. Anyway, thanks for reading! Leave a review, and let me know what you think! Be sure to tell me about any errors you see, and I will be sure to fix it. Thanks! Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **Hey there, everyone! I know that it has been forever, and I have a reason for that. Normally, I don't feel the need to explain why I was away, but I figured you would be interested. As you know, I was faithful with the updates for this story, until I abruptly stopped updating entirely. Trust me when I say I didn't want to stop. At that time, I decided to begin writing my own book, so I set this aside in favor of something else. In case you ask, the book is coming along well, and I enjoy writing it. I can't tell you when I will finish it, but when I do, I will publish through Amazon. If you like, I will post, and let you know when it is out. Now, I enjoy writing this story, but I wanted to keep writing my book. But, after I kept on getting hits, favorites, and followers, I decided to reward your loyalty, and finish this first. Please enjoy!

**Chapter 5**

**Percy POV**

As I ran back to New York, several monsters tried to cut me off, to no avail. They didn't stand much of a chance, but, after the events on Mount Othrys, my strength was nearly gone. I didn't think I had a chance to stop anywhere. I would rather just keep running, but, even as fast as I travel, I doubt I could get to the hideout before I ran out of energy. I stopped somewhere on the Utah-Colorado line. There was only sparse vegetation in the nearby hills, and there couldn't have been much in the way of game, but I had little option at that point. I walked several more miles, and finally settled down for the night underneath some overhanging rock. The sky quickly grew dark, but, unlike in my past life, I no longer fear the darkness. If anything, I was more at home in the dark. As soon as I was rested, I would proceed, but my mind drifted toward my friend Nico. I didn't know if he would accept my offer, or if I would retain the courage needed to ask him to take part in the experiment. If he loses control as I did, we will have to vanish, or if he goes entirely feral, I must kill him. I will not release an uncontrolled beast into the land. Innocent blood already coats my hands, and I will not share that burden with Nico, if even remotely possible. Shortly after that, I thought about the giant Enceladus. Both he and Atlas stated that I would be unable to defeat him without the aid of a god. I may have been able to beat him, but I couldn't afford to take on Enceladus, and the rest of his army. But, I understood, in some deep part of myself, that we, the demigods, need the gods to be free in order to restore Western Civilization. All I need to do is find where even one of them is being held.

My breathing slowed, but I never left my wolf form. After several deep breaths, I realized no large game thrived here. In all truth, I would likely need to head north into the mountains to find food, which would delay my journey. However, I needed to keep my strength up; no telling when one of the hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of monsters would find me, and track me back to the hideout. Even as I slept, I kept my senses on full alert. Of course, this prevented me from getting as much rest as I needed, but there would be time to rest later. Fortunately, nothing of note occurred throughout the night, and I woke to the sun beaming down harshly into my eyes.

After stretching briefly, I sniffed out the surrounding area, hoping to pick up the scent of some large game. When I didn't pick anything up with my sniffer, I started east again. Although, the moment my stomach rumbled, I veered north in hopes of finding something at least slightly larger than a jackrabbit for food. Once I eat a decently sized meal, in wolf terms, I don't have to eat for a few days, but since I pretty much rushed the entire way to Othrys, and hadn't eaten since before I left New York, I found myself famished. In truth, I could likely make it back to New York as I am now, but I may get cut off, trapped, or forced to defend the hideout, and I will need energy to do that.

Within an hour, and without incident, I tracked down and killed a large elk, and after I tore apart the corpse and stripped it of most of its meat, I looked up to see a young boy staring at me. Shock ran through my system, and I laid my ears back in an attempt to look slightly less intimidating. Needless to say, the blood covering my jaws and chest didn't help. Fortunately, the boy didn't scream and run, so my position wasn't revealed to any nearby monsters. The poor kid seemed to be frozen in fear. I took a deep breath, but did not stand up. He may think I am an exceptionally large wolf. However, my eyes widened, because when I took that breath the unmistakable scent of a demigod flooded my system. So this boy is a demigod.

I took a closer look at him, and found myself pacing around him slowly. I'm afraid he may have gone into shock, but if he has, I can't do anything for him. His clothes were worn and oversized, but there were not many large tears in his clothing, and he even had shoes, a rare thing these days. His eyes were not wide like they were when I first looked up, and he didn't smell of the fear I suspected he felt. Carrying the characteristic dirtiness of humans in this new age, the boy would easily blend in with the humans, and his scent, while potent, was covered by the dirt and grime coating him. Few monsters, outside of myself and other creatures of the hunt, would be able to smell him out as a demigod.

"I had a dream about you, Perseus Jackson," the boy said. When my name passed from his lips, my hair stood up on end, and I quickly shifted to my human form.

"How do you know my name?" I demanded. Even now, the boy didn't bat an eye.

"Like I said, I had a dream about you. I need you to take me with you," he said.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to keep up, and you don't want to be stuck with me when the monsters catch up," I responded. At this point, I don't believe there are any traitor demigods, and this boy is too young to have known anything but the reign of Gaia's children.

"You will have to slow down," the boy said. I growled under my breath in frustration.

"Who are you? Why are you so important that I must slow down, and risk having a literal army of monsters finding me?" I demanded.

"My name is Daniel, and I don't know why you need to take me with you. But you just do," Daniel said. I sighed deeply.

"Got a last name?" I asked after a moment.

"Nope," he said. After several moments of silence, I growled in irritation. As much as I thought it was a bad idea, I had a feeling that this kid was right, and I learned long before to trust my instincts. I need to take him with me. Perhaps the Fates have a purpose for him.

"I'm going out on a limb here, but I will take you with me," I said. He looked excited. "But," I began. His face fell. "We can't afford to slow down, so you will have to ride on my back." At those words, he perked up. After a brief grin at his enthusiasm, I transformed back into the wolf. I held back my natural urge to howl, but only barely. Next I turned to stare at Daniel, and he shook his head and settled onto my back. I took a deep breath, and smelled several nearby monsters, though I couldn't tell if they were on my trail, or on Daniel's. It was possible that they were merely in the area, but I don't believe the Fates are that merciful.

The moment I felt Daniel's grip on my fur tighten adequately, I took off. I had to dodge several arrows and javelins from the nearby monsters, but I managed to get the both of us out unscathed. Unfortunately, they were back on my trail, and I could smell more ahead of me. I can't go straight back to the hideout, or I will compromise its secrecy.

Suddenly, I heard the distinctive whistle of an arrow streaking through the air. I swerved to avoid it immediately, but that was one moment too late for Daniel. He cried out in pain and fell off my back at whatever impossible speed I was traveling. I growled menacingly, and lunged toward the attacker. The cloaked figure vanished before I could deliver the killing blow. I howled in rage, shaking the very earth beneath me. Whatever monsters were nearby swiftly fell to my rage-enhanced might.

When I finally found Daniel, his body was broken in several places, and his skin looked green. _The arrow must have been poisoned, _I thought. I didn't know how to help him. I wasn't a medic or healer, but I knew I couldn't let him die. If the Fates sent him to me, they sent him for a purpose, and for him to die within an hour of our meeting cannot be that purpose. Only one thing came to mind that might have been able to help him, but I still hesitated. Yet he deserved to live, and I wouldn't stand by and do nothing. After a brief moment of indecision, I made up my mind. I would attempt to turn Daniel into a werewolf.

**AN: **How was it? Am I rusty with this one? Did I have any conflictions with what I've already written? Did you like it? Be sure to review, and let me know your thoughts on this chapter! Thanks for reading! You are awesome! God bless!


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: **That last chapter got excellent feedback! You are amazing! But you already knew that, right?

**Chapter 6**

**Percy POV**

Acting entirely on instinct, I bit into Daniel's broken body. I only hoped I wasn't too late to save his life. If I had some way to contact Nico, I would have, but as it stood, there was no way that I could. They would have to wait.

After I watched Daniel for a few moments, I gently picked him up and moved him to a more secluded place. Years ago, I hunted often in this region, so I knew several spots that were tucked away and set apart from the world. When I had him settled, I muttered under my breath, "Sorry, kid," and then started to reset as many of his bones as I could. I thought that doing so might have helped his chances of survival. Once I had done all I could, I sat back and watched him. Truthfully, I was nervous. Had I made a mistake? Would he even live?

I shook those thoughts from my head, and just watched over him. Over the course of nearly an hour, I was relieved to see the color return to his skin as the poison was beat back by the beast's blood. It was only a matter of time before the process was complete, and, so far, it seemed as if my last ditch effort worked. Only time would fully confirm that success, but his heartbeat grew steadily stronger while his breaths grew deeper.

I closed my eyes and allowed the sounds and smells of my surroundings envelop my senses. The best I can figure, I eliminated all of the monsters that were tracking us when I unleashed my rage, so the only living creatures around were normal animals. Admittedly, even in human form, my mouth watered when I got a whiff of a plump deer, but I had just eaten, so I restrained myself. The scent of Gaia's earth intoxicated me, but that is the only benefit to her awakening. The freshness of nature invaded my senses, and overtook all else in the most pleasant way. If you can imagine being overwhelmed by the scents of flowers and freshly cut grass, magnify that by a factor of at least ten, and you might get close to the edge of the pleasure I experienced in that moment.

Daniel decided to wake up at that point, and he seemed no worse for the wear, though his scent had changed drastically, and he seemed several years older. Apparently, the wolf blood either aged him slightly, or made him appear much older. If his experience is anything like mine, I will have a brief time to warn him of his first transformation, and what I may have to do if he loses control entirely. He groaned when he tried to stand up, and I instantly went on alert, in case he was already beginning to transform. It turned out that he was just really, really sore, which wasn't hard to believe at all.

"What happened?" he asked after a moment.

"You got shot off my back by a poisoned arrow, then tumbled gods know how many yards until you hit a tree," I answered. Daniel seemed perplexed when he heard me.

"How did I survive?" he asked.

"You may not like it, but, in order to save your life, I had to turn you into a werewolf. If your case is in any way similar to how my own began, you will experience your first transformation in just a moment. I must warn you that, if you can't control yourself, and I can't stop you from doing something stupid, I may kill you. I'm sorry, but I couldn't sit back and watch you die. I suppose there is some part of me that is still a hero."

"I didn't want this," Daniel said quietly. What was left of my human heart ached at his words, but the wolf in me felt, if anything, slightly angry.

"I didn't want this either, but would you have rather died? I'm sorry, but there is no going back now," I said. He placed his head in his hands, and sighed.

"Thanks, I guess. I didn't want to die, but I just don't know about this," Daniel said.

"I've been a werewolf for many years now, and I've just recently come to terms with it. Do not do that to yourself, Daniel. Embrace the wolf, as I have. I promise I won't let you do anything to harm any innocent people," I said.

"How can you promise that?" he asked.

"Because I've spilled much innocent blood, and I won't let you carry that burden as well," I said. Suddenly, Daniel cried out in pain, and I winced when I heard him scream as the first of his bones shifted. "It's okay, Daniel. Don't fight it, or you'll just cause yourself more pain." After I finished speaking, I changed my form to that of the wolf, because I would be able to stop him easily in that form.

I finished transforming before he did, and stood on alert, ready to prevent him from making any stupid moves. More bones cracked and rearranged themselves as fur began to spring from his body. His teeth elongated and sharpened, and his finger and toenails turned into claws. Unlike my own pitch black fur, his fur was some shade of brown I couldn't identify. The color was somewhere between chocolate brown and red-brown. Daniel wasn't nearly as large as I was, but he was still massive when compared to a wolf, or one of Lycaon's wolves. Soon, he finished the process entirely, but he just lay on his side for a moment. _"That hurt, a lot," _echoed in my mind. Daniel slowly stood up, shaking himself, as a wolf or dog naturally would when rising.

_"Daniel? Is that you?" _I thought. I kind of imagined myself speaking, which felt awkward.

_"Yes, I think so. You can hear my thoughts?" _he thought/said.

_"Yea, I can, I think. This is seriously cool!" _I could feel that he was famished. _"Go and hunt your first meal as a wolf. I will watch over you. I'm surprised you've managed to hold off your instincts this long. Maybe our telepathic connection helps with that." _It was like a switch had been hit when I told him to hunt, and he became more feral, but not quite as wild as I had been when I first transformed. Did I hold some sort of power over him? To this day, I haven't figured it out, but I think it has something to do with me being the Alpha wolf. My very will is like an order, even if I don't say anything. The communication is mostly deliberate, but, on occasion, I breached into his mind and read his thoughts and feelings.

I guided him as he hunted, but his natural instincts served him well, and he needed little help, other than more encouragement from me to let the wolf lead. Everything came as naturally to him as it did to me, but with my help, he didn't have to fight his nature. If the cost of my pack-mate's control was the lack of my own control in the early years, I was perfectly okay with that. Over the course of his first hunt, I had to growl occasionally to keep him in check and prevent him from gorging himself. When I finally managed to get the pup to settle down, he laid on his side and fell asleep, I couldn't keep myself from chuckling. Eventually, I decided to follow his example and get a true, restful night of sleep. The risk, in my mind was worth it.

Imagine my surprise to find that the Fates had favored us through the night. When I awoke, I found Daniel still asleep next to me, though during the night he morphed back into human form. There were no monster to be seen or smelled for miles, and I felt great. I shifted back into human form, and nudged Daniel awake. "Wake up, pup. We've got to figure this whole pack thing out, and you've got to begin learning how to transform at will," I said.

He groaned, but I used my foot to roll him onto his back. "What happened yesterday? All I remember is chasing down a deer, feeling like I was being dipped in lava, and falling asleep right here," Daniel said. I laughed a little bit before I answered.

"Well, that was basically all of the highpoints. You did very well, so you either have an accelerated learning curve from my experience, or you're a natural at this werewolf stuff. My ego says you got help from me, so let's stick with that, for now," I joked. He chuckled a little bit, and groaned when I pulled him to his feet.

"So what don't I remember?" Daniel asked.

"Well, apparently we can communicate by thought, and I can see through your eyes, somewhat. It might be because I'm Alpha, but it is possible that you will be able to see through mine, if you tried. We'll need to test if there is a range limit on this telepathic thing; and, if there is, we need to find out how large of a distance it works. Like I said, we also need to see if you can transform at will yet or not. You shouldn't need to eat for a few days, but with a werewolf's appetite, you will probably want to later today, or several times today. I've learned to control my appetite, but that is largely due to my own needs, currently. When I was settled in one area for a long time, I ate the moment I got hungry and never suffered for it, so you just hunt when you need to, alright?" I asked.

"I got it," he replied. I nodded my head. "So, where do we start?"

"Well, in order to do much of anything, you need to shift to the wolf form. I know it sucks, but eventually, you don't notice it. Or maybe it just stopped hurting for me. I don't pay attention," I said.

"Okay, so how do I do it?" Daniel asked. I rubbed the back of my head.

"That's the problem. I don't really know how I change forms, I just do. Try thinking about what you felt when you were the wolf, or maybe imagine that you are in a life-threatening situation. For a long time, the only reliable way I could control when I transformed was by attempting to harm myself. Hopefully you don't have to go that far," I said. Daniel sighed.

"You are, literally, no help at all," he said. His facial expression made him look like a caveman.

"I know," I said with a cheeky smile. "Just try something." A few moments later, Daniel looked like he had to fart. I nearly died laughing, and when he turned to me and glared, I said, "Sorry, carry on."

After something like fifteen minutes, he started getting really mad; whether at himself, or at me, I didn't know. That was when he found results. His screams tore through the air as he began to morph into his wolf. I quickly transformed to ensure he didn't go nuts.

_"So, what did it?" _I asked.

_"I got pissed," _he answered.

_"At what?" _I asked. _"Nevermind, keep it to yourself. Hopefully you can either get angry enough faster in the future, or find an easier trigger, but this will do for now. We'll work on the shifting back part later. Last time you became a human again, you slept, but that won't always work out well. Don't worry."_

_ "I wasn't worried," _he said. I turned to look at him, and he shrugged.

_"Hungry?" _I asked. He shook his head no. _"Good, now we're going to start heading east, toward our destination." _That is when something I didn't think about before hit me. Does Daniel know that he is a demigod? Or, should I say was a demigod? Now he is one fourth god, one fourth human, and half wolf, so I don't know. Back on topic. _"I realized something just now. I know that you are something called a demigod. Do you know that? If not, I can explain." _

_"A demigod? Like half god, half human? Like Hercules? I love his story!" _Daniel said. I winced involuntarily at Heracles' Roman name. I pretty much stopped admiring that jerk right then and there when Zoe explained who he really was.

_"Yes, like Hercules, although that is his Roman name, and he is not a figure to be admired. I don't know who your godly parent is, but you are either half Greek god, or half Roman god. I will have to explain the differences between the Greek and Roman worlds and pantheons later. Just know, for now, that, before you became a werewolf, you were a half-blood. Previously, that knowledge would have been dangerous for you, but your new nature prevents that danger. It has to do with your demigod scent, but I will have to explain that later as well," _I said.

_"Why do I have to wait?" _Daniel asked.

_"Because we have to get moving to a demigod hideout. Most of the demigods appear to have been killed by an enemy that rose up against us, named Gaia. You may recognize the name from mythology, if you know it very well. This group of demigods we are heading to will be the start of a revolution against the children of Gaia's reign. Now, let's get moving. I promise to explain as much as I can on the way. We'll see how fast you are as well. Try and keep up!" _I said before I took off toward the east.

_"Hey! That is not fair!" _Daniel shouted as he tried to catch up.

**AN: **Well, that seemed easier for me. I feel like this was a little less rough than the last chapter. Tell me your thoughts and opinions on it! I can only fix any problems if you tell me I have them! Thanks again for being awesome enough to read my work!


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **Hello! Thanks for reading this far! You are awesome! I promise, more awesome werewolf action is coming!

**Chapter 7**

**Percy POV**

"So, the gods have two sides to their personality?" Daniel asked.

"From how I understand it, the gods are actually like two different people, in the same body, which is pretty much the same thing you said. That isn't even the weirdest thing about our screwed up divine family, in my opinion. Let's not talk about that stuff though, because it's also beyond gross," I said. We stopped somewhere in the Ozark Mountains for a while so Daniel could hunt and rest. He managed to change forms fairly easily, after only three days. His trick for turning back was thinking of something. He never told me what he thought of though. We'd been avoiding civilization intentionally, so our travel speed wasn't maxed out, and we likely had several more days of travel to go.

"I think I get it," he said. I knew he couldn't grasp it, but I don't blame him at all.

"Don't worry about it," I said.

"Do we need to get going soon?" Daniel asked. I shrugged. We didn't need to avoid the night, but we weren't in any kind of rush.

"We'll rest here for the night. Go on and sleep. I'm going to hunt on my own," I said. He nodded his head, fell onto his back, and slept. From what I could tell so far, he didn't have nearly as much energy as I possessed, and I thought that was because of the whole "I have Ares' power flowing through me" thing. It's possible that I am more resilient because I am an Alpha wolf, but I don't care about reasons all that much.

After I changed forms, I dashed off into the surrounding darkness to look for a meal. My vision had no problems adjusting to the change of light, and, within a few minutes, I caught the scent of a herd of deer. Even after ten years, the thrill of the chase never diminished, not even in the slightest.

Eventually, I tracked the deer into what looked like an abandoned town. Unlike a few of the other towns I'd wandered through in the past, this place look like it had been attacked by more than nature. Did the residents fight each other over something like food? Or did another town attack them for some reason? I don't know why Gaia or her armies would target this town. My appetite now forgotten, I stalked through the town looking for answers.

This town had to have been pretty prosperous for its size, because it had several chain restaurants and superstores, and even its own college. I couldn't read the actual name of the university on the signs, but it looked like they were a technical or engineering school. I think Annabeth would have liked it. When that thought danced through my head, I couldn't help but remember how I'll never get to see her again, afterlife or otherwise, and my heart ached.

As I saw more of the town and the college in it, I began to recognize the signs of battle. There were broken swords and dented shields tucked away in obscure places at the edge of town, and, if I remember anything from "Mr. Brunner's" class, those shields were Roman. If I had to guess, this is one of the places where the Romans were attacked by the undying monsters. I somehow doubted that the Romans would have killed the people in this town. And that only left Gaia as the responsible party. Her army just killed the mortals because they were there?

I shifted back into a human and sat down on a rock in what used to be a parking lot. The "rock" broke, and I fell into the remains of a fallen street lamp. Some moss had grown over it, so I didn't recognize the glass. I saw a familiar flash of green, and it wasn't moss. I did a double take, and my anger rose once more. The street lamp I sat on replaced the standard torch of a mini Statue of Liberty. It had obviously been trampled and abused by the monsters that passed through here. They must have seen it as some symbol of Olympian power or something, but it reminded me of home. Fury began to burn in my heart once more, and I nearly exploded into the wolf. The ground beneath me shook as I grew angrier, and cracks began to snap open nearby.

I forced myself to calm down eventually, but it took nearly an hour. Well, I suppose it was good to know my sense of justice was still kicking. Or had it become vengeance? I didn't particularly care. Whether this drive was justice or vengeance did not matter in the slightest to me anymore. After all, I am a monster. I may be a hero, but I'm not half as noble as I once was.

Ten minutes later, I was kicking Daniel awake. "Come on, we're leaving," I said.

"I thought we were staying the night?" Daniel asked.

"Change of plans," I said. Moments later, the terrain of the Ozark Mountains went flying past us. I had no idea where we were in the mountain chain, so we would have to run along the river until we saw a bridge. I could make it across the Mississippi easily, as a Son of Poseidon, but I doubt that Daniel would make it across alive. I know from experience that the Old Man River is no joke.

When we got to the river, I had to laugh. How ironic can things get? I mean, I know we were following what used to be an interstate, but I didn't know where it would take us. When I stopped for a moment, Daniel turned to look at me. _"What's wrong?" _he asked. I shook my head.

_"Nothing is wrong, pup. It's just been a long time since I've been to St Louis. Last time I was here, the world was very different. I remember being attacked and having to jump from the Gateway Arch. I still have no idea how I made it into the river. Anyway, let's get going. We'll definitely stop for the night when we reach the Appalachian mountain chain. The full moon should be rising soon, and I know that I am always more, um, let's go with wild, during that transformation. I don't know how you'll handle it, so we will have to wait until we both have control before we can proceed, alright?" _I asked him.

_"I got it," _he said. With that, we took off into the city. I'm sure that, by now, the people that are still alive in this town have seen weirder things than two giant wolves pass through. As we descended into the town, I noticed Daniel tensing up a little bit.

_"What's wrong?" _I asked him. He shook his head.

_"Do you smell that? Whatever it is must taste delicious. I'm getting hungry," _Daniel said. Then he went feral. What scared me was I recognized the scent. Daniel's wolf had taken control, and it wanted to eat human for dinner. I wasn't going to let that happen.

I chased after him, shouting at him mentally, growling at him, and barking. He never slowed, even when I tried to get into his mind and force him to. A few seconds later, he jumped through a window and into a home. A piercing howl echoed through the city as Daniel spotted his prey. I lunged after him, and pinned him to the wall. I turned to see a little girl, probably twelve years old, with blond hair cowering behind her older brother. He looked as scared as she was, but he still stood in front of her and tried to protect her.

I lost my focus, and Daniel wriggled out of my grasp, and lunged back toward the pair. I tackled him again, and we tumbled through the wall, and into the backyard. He growled at me, and when I looked into his mind, no coherent thoughts greeted me. Instead, all I got from his mind was the lust for blood and the thrill of the hunt. _Daniel, I am ORDERING you to stop!" _I cried. He just growled louder at me, and tried to charge past me. I jumped in his way, but didn't manage to stop him entirely. He rolled into the house through the gaping hole we made earlier. He stood on his hind legs, and roared at the two siblings. I heard the little girl whimper, and I let loose with my own roar, and Daniel's couldn't compare. The sound echoed through the air, and shook the ground beneath our feet. I even managed to stun Daniel for a moment, and I recognized a bit of himself in his mind for that brief moment. He leapt forward onto the two, and closed his jaws. I had no choice. I grabbed Daniel by his throat with my clawed hand, and used my other hand to force his mouth open. I threw him back out into the backyard, and chased after him.

When I saw him again, his was standing slightly, with his hand to his throat as he tried to catch his breath. _"YOU WILL RESPECT MY ORDER! I AM YOUR ALPHA, AND MY WORD IS LAW! SUBMIT, OR DIE!" _He recoiled at my mental shout. Jumping onto him and pinning him, I released a deafening howl, before I asked him. _"Do you submit to your Alpha Wolf?" _Several moments went by, and neither of us did anything but breathe.

After nearly a minute, I recognized his sanity returning, and he answered me. _"I submit, Alpha." _I glared at him for another minute, before I got up off of him. When I glanced at him, and saw the blood on his jaws, I hit him and sent him flying. _"What the hell was that for?" _Daniel growled.

_"Look at yourself! You either just killed or infected two innocent people, all because you couldn't control yourself!" _I shouted. His ears went flat around his skull, and he followed me from a distance as I went to check on his victims. They smelled like mortals, so, if they weren't dead, they just got dragged into a world they might not have known existed, unless they were clear-sighted.

I saw they were still alive, but badly wounded. Their blood was all over the floor, soaking into the carpet. All of their limbs were intact and attached, which was good, but if we didn't stop the bleeding, they would die anyway. I shifted back before their pain-filled eyes, and Daniel followed my lead. The boy's eyes went wide, while the little girl just closed her little eyes tight and shook her head, just hoping that his nightmare would end. "Can you still talk?" I asked them.

"What are you?" the guy asked. Now that I got a good look at him, he looked to be a little older than I thought; probably sixteen or seventeen.

"Werewolves," I said. There wasn't a point in hiding it. "Listen, and listen real good. If we can't stop the bleeding that my idiot friend here caused, both of you will die," I said, gesturing to the gaping wounds on their bodies. "But, if we manage to save you, the both of you will be introduced to an entirely different world from that which you know. You will both become monsters, and will be wrapped up in a war you won't be able to avoid. My question is this: do you want to live as a monster, or die and go to the Underworld?" I asked. The little girl's eyes snapped open, and she looked at her brother. The pain in her blue eyes hurt me, and Daniel looked ready to kill himself.

"I want to live, Austyn," she said. "I'm afraid to die." Tears poured from her eyes, and I nearly began to cry myself. I can't remember being that young and innocent anymore, at least, not clearly. The Fates are cruel, no matter what happens.

"I know, Annie," Austyn said. When I heard that name, stacked on top of the fact that she looked a little like Annabeth, I had to turn my head away for a moment. "Do what you can," Austyn said.

"I will. Daniel, go find some towels, and whatever else you find that will help stop the bleeding. We only need to keep them alive long enough for the wolf blood to take over and heal them," I ordered. Daniel nodded his head, and dashed off to find something that could help. "I'm sorry you got mixed up in this," I said.

"Me too," Austyn said. I smiled at him.

"You'll be alright, Annie. I promise you," I said, nearly choking on Annie. It's just too close to Annabeth. She nodded her head, while pressing her wounds. Hopefully, the curse would spread faster with these two than it did with Daniel. It could, considering that in his case, the wolf blood had to fight with the poison in his system. "It looks like he missed your carotid arteries, so that is good. As soon as the process is finished, you will transform. Hopefully, your wounds will heal immediately, but if that doesn't happen, you'll still be fine."

Daniel came running back in with an armful of dish towels, and helped me try and staunch the bleeding. He knelt next to Annie and helped her, while I knelt next to Austyn. Tears flowed freely from Annie's eyes, and Austyn was trying to be strong for her. That is when he passed out. I don't know why, to this day, as he hadn't lost too much blood. Daniel and I rag him about it now and then, saying that he passed out because he saw too much blood. That wasn't really why, of course.

Anyway, three hours and a pile full of towels later, Austyn and Annie were running with us across the bridge, and back into the overgrown world of Gaia. As cruel as the Fates were to the siblings, I ended up thanking them for sparing their lives. We almost lost Annie several times, but I grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed hard every time her eyes began to shut. Austyn, despite his blackout, made it through easily.

Whether I wanted it to, or not, my pack was growing. And now the full moon is that much closer. Will I be able to control all three of them?

**AN: **Well, there's another one! Faster than I thought, but the words just kept flowing. That's how it works, sometimes. Anyway, if you have any comments or suggestions, be sure to leave a review and let me know. Thanks for being the awesome person you are!


	8. Chapter 8

**AN****: **Thanks for reading! Over the past week, you guys have hit this story over 2000 times! A special thanks goes out to those of you who decided to follow/favorite/review this story, or myself! As I've said before, and as you should already know, you are amazing! Carry on with your awesomeness :D

**Chapter**** 8**

**Percy ****POV**

"So, let me get this straight. The ancient Greek and Roman pantheon of gods are real, and their rule has been overthrown by Mother Earth," Austyn said.

"Yes, what's so hard to understand about it?" Daniel asked.

"Ease up, pup," I said. "Yes, Austyn, you got it now."

"Why do you still call me pup?" Daniel asked.

"You're the youngest," I said.

"I'm not the youngest wolf!" he said.

"No, but you are the youngest person," I said cheekily. "It's too late, the nickname is yours. Deal with it."

"Have you never dealt with an annoying nickname? It's horrible!" Daniel said.

"He's right, you know," Austyn said.

"I know he's right, but those are the best nicknames. And, to answer your question, yes, I suffered through several annoying nicknames. An old friend of mine had an infinite draw of horrible names for me," I said. I couldn't help but think of Annabeth's nickname for me, Seaweed Brain.

My face must have fallen, because Daniel asked, "You alright, Perce?" I nodded my head.

"Yea, I'm fine. Just lost in memories," I replied. After a moment, I spoke up again. "Annie, you alright? You've been quiet for a while now."

"Oh, yea, I'm alright. I'm just listening," she said. I nodded my head at her, but didn't say anything else.

Daniel still felt bad about his loss of control, but Austyn told him yesterday that what was done was done, and nobody could change the past. Austyn was a lot bigger than Daniel in the wolf form, although not nearly as large me. Daniel was still faster than Austyn, and he enjoyed having some sort of edge. What surprised me was that although Annie was the smallest of us, her speed rivaled my own, and she could run with me for quite a while. Overall, I thought they were a good addition to the pack. I still wish they didn't get jerked into this world, but, like Austyn said, what's done is done. I found it funny how Austyn wasn't real sharp, but somehow managed to quote all kinds of proverbs. He never managed to remember where he read them, or where they came from, but he always quoted them word for word, if you asked him. I didn't bother arguing with him, because his proverbs always made sense.

I looked up into the sky to check the moon. By now, I had a better sense of when the full moon is close, but I still preferred to see for myself. The three of them kept chatting about random things. I didn't get most of it, because I hadn't been in the human world in several years. Standing slowly, I told them, "We need to get going. I want to be in the mountains again by the time the full moon rises. I can't tell exactly, but it looks like we have two days tops until then."

"Where are we now?" Annie asked.

"I don't know exactly. I think we're somewhere in Kentucky, so we shouldn't have any problems, but I would rather not take the risk," I said.

"I wish we could sleep more," Daniel moaned.

"You slept for twelve hours!" Austyn said incredulously. I laughed at them, before I shifted.

Annie still hadn't mastered transforming, so it took us around thirty minutes before we got moving. Annie ran ahead several times, despite Austyn's protests. He tried to get me to tell her to stop, but I wasn't worried. She never got more than a few seconds ahead of us, so if she got in trouble we could be there before she got hurt.

Nearly an hour later, I felt the wind shift, and I caught the scent of something. It didn't seem like any of the other three picked it up. For a moment, I thought I imagined it, but then I saw something moving in the trees, and I stopped dead. Daniel ran smack into me, and Annie came running back.

_"__What__'__s __wrong__?" _Austyn asked. I didn't reply for a moment.

_ "__We__'__re __being __tracked__," _I answered. Nobody liked that.

_ "__By __who__? __The __monsters__?" _Annie asked.

_ "__No__, __not __monsters__. __It__'__s __just __a __hawk__," _I said. _"__I __thought __I __saw __something __else__, __but __I __must __have __imagined __it__." _I knew I didn't but there wasn't any sense in getting them worked up about it. Besides, they wouldn't be able to keep up with us. _"__Come __on__, __let__'__s __get __moving__." _I darted back off, intentionally veering north, just in case.

We kept going until we were in the Appalachian Mountains, only settling down for the night once I felt we were far enough from humanity. Not that there were nearly as many humans around now as there were before, but after what happened to Annie and Austyn, I was being extra careful.

_"__Alright__, __guys__, __we__'__re __going __to __camp __here __for __several __nights __until __the __full __moon __passes__, __and __you __phase __back__. __After __you__'__ve __successfully __gotten __through __that__, __you __will __stay __here __for __a __little __while __longer__, __and __I __will __go __ahead __and __see __what__'__s __going __on __at __the __hideout__," _I said.

_ "__Why __can__'__t __we __come __with __you__?" _Annie asked.

_ "__After __what __happened __back __in __St __Louis__, __I __want __to __take __a __long __time__, __maybe __even __a __year__, __to __be __sure __you __can __handle __being __around __people__. __I__'__m __not __going __to __risk __getting __more __people __hurt__. __I__'__ve __been __responsible __for __enough __deaths__," _I said darkly.

_ "__Why __are __you __going __to __the __hideout __anyway__?" __Austyn __asked__._

_ "__I __need __to __talk __to __some __people__, __and __start __figuring __out __a __game __plan __with __them__. __I __might __also __pick __up __an __extra __pack __member__, __if __he __is __up __for __it__," _I said. They seemed to understand. _"__Go __hunt__. __I__'__ll __keep __an __ear __out__, __and __find __somewhere __to __sleep__. __Once __you__'__re __finished__, __I__'__ll __hunt__. __Feel __free __to __go __anywhere__, __and __follow __your __instincts__. __We__'__re __nowhere __near __any __people__, __so __you __should __be __fine__. __Familiarize __yourself __with __your __inner __wolf__. __Take __your __time__." _Daniel stayed, saying that he would go later. I thought he was feeling guilty still, but he needs to move past it. I let myself get suicidal for years because I killed a few woodsmen, and I only ended up causing more problems for myself. Granted, Daniel, if he wanted to kill himself, would have actually been able to, unlike me. If it is within my power, I won't let Daniel go down that dark road.

From what I'd seen, they wouldn't go nearly as feral as I did. Hopefully, that untamable state was due entirely to my being an Alpha. Perhaps that amount of strength and power made me more volatile? We'll see tomorrow night, I suppose.

"Hey, Perce?" Daniel asked.

"Yea? What's up?" I said.

"Who were you before you were a werewolf? I know you mentioned that you were a werewolf for a little over a decade, but, aside from saying you were a demigod, you never said anything else," Daniel said. I took a deep breath in, and didn't say anything for a long time.

"I'm sorry, pup, but that life is behind me. It doesn't do me any good to look back now," I said.

"Can you at least tell me who your godly parent was? Or anything?" Daniel asked. I smiled.

"That's fair, I suppose. I am a son of Poseidon, the great god of the seas," I said. Daniel's eyes widened, but he didn't push for anymore information, thank the gods. Maybe someone will tell him about my past, but it sure as hell won't be me.

When Annie and Austyn returned, I had to drag Daniel out to hunt. Claiming he wasn't hungry, he refused to hunt with me, initially. Then his stomach rumbled, and he mumbled something about maybe having a tiny bit of an appetite. After we finished hunting, and our bellies were full, all four of us settled down for the night.

The next day passed without incident, even though we were all tensed up and nervous about the coming night. Planning my strategy for keeping the three of them contained, I did literally nothing else all day. Unless of course you would count my refereeing of a wrestling match between Daniel and Austyn. As humans, Daniel got creamed, but he held his own when they fought as wolves. Daniel still lost though. Annie was nearly a nervous wreck by the time the sun began to set, so I walked over to where she was sitting, and knelt down next to her.

"You know, you really don't need to be afraid. There isn't anybody that you can hurt around here. I've made sure of it. Beyond that, of all of us, you are the least wild, and that is saying something," I said.

"I know I don't have to be scared, but I can't help it, Percy. I didn't want this, but Daniel forced it on me and my brother. I might have been happy back in St Louis, but I'll never be able to know now," she said. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she set her chin on them and sighed. I saw some tears leaking from her eyes.

"Hey," I said softly. "I know it isn't fair. I didn't ask for this either, and neither did Daniel. But you can't let what happened in the past determine your future. I'm not the brightest kid in the world, but I know a thing or two about fear and regret. So I know that worrying doesn't get anyone anywhere. Just do what you can with what you have. Nobody can say anything bad about that." Annie didn't respond for a while. I sat down next to her, and waited for her to say something. She took a deep breath, and sighed again.

"Thanks, I guess, but I'm still scared," she said. I smiled.

"You know, being scared is normal. Honestly, I would be worried if you weren't scared. You have been so brave these past couple of days with how you've dealt with everything. Don't let your fear overwhelm you tonight. Be brave," I said.

"But I haven't been brave! I have been terrified beyond belief, and I haven't been able to sleep well at all, and I sometimes have problems breathing I'm so scared!" she cried.

"Bravery isn't not being scared, Annie. Bravery is being scared, but not allowing your fear to stop you. You'll do just fine, Annie, I know it," I reassured her, before standing up. She smiled up at me, but I knew she was still scared. Hopefully, Annie would begin to feel better about it.

Walking leisurely toward the tree line, I couldn't help but wonder what Chiron or Annabeth would think of me now, not to mention my mother. Would they be proud of me, or disgusted? Is Chiron even alive? Did Nico mention him when we talked? I don't think I asked. Does he go to Tartarus like monsters when he dies? Or would Chiron be more like a satyr, and become something else when he dies? Depressed somewhat, I sighed deeply. I missed my friends. The only people I know for a fact are still alive are Nico and Connor. There is a chance that Thalia is still alive, but Nico hasn't heard from her in a long time. I sat down, and leaned against a tree.

It's amazing how the world seems so peaceful. Appearing to have been untouched for centuries, the thick forests overwhelm all. Unlike the first few years of my time as a werewolf, the scent of the world around me floods my senses. Often times, I find myself having to concentrate to smell anything other than the trees. However, despite the apparent peace you see at first glance, it doesn't take all that much effort to recognize how dangerous this untamed nature poses. New creatures have risen from the depths of extinction and Tartarus, and more ancient beasts are rising. I truly fear that I will not be the apex predator for long.

Suddenly, my chain of thought was broken by a large shadow passing overhead. I looked up to see an eagle. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have batted an eye at it, but this bird was tremendous. There was no chance that this thing is ordinary. I wasn't worried about it, until it began to circle. That is when I shifted, and howled. Stunning the overlarge eagle, my howl called my fellow pack members. But, the first answering howl I heard was not that of my pack. My fur stood up on end, and I dashed off toward the sound, with my pack trying to keep up.

Moments later, I stopped dead. A wolf nearly as large as me stood, surrounded by smaller wolves. The she-wolf was not agitated, but her pack was, and the only thing stopping them from charging me was her. Annie caught up first, with Daniel and Austyn right behind. A voice echoed in my mind, and it wasn't either of those three. _"__Greetings__, __Perseus__. __I __have __watched __you __for __many __years__. __You __know__, __as __I __do__, __that __the __time __for __redemption __has __come__," _the she-wolf said.

_"__Who __are __you__, __she__-__wolf__?" _I demanded. _"__You __are __no __werewolf__, __yet __you __speak __as __one__."_

_ "I am your patron as the goddess of wolves. I am Lupa, the Wolf Goddess, and the mother of Rome,"_ Lupa declared.

**AN: **Hey! Thanks for reading! I'm glad you've come this far along with me on this journey! As I've said before, you are amazing! Be sure to tell me about any errors I made, as I was too lazy to proofread this chapter. Sorry if it sucked. Anyway, let me know what you thought! Until the next chapter!


	9. Writer's Block Notice

**Hey there everyone,**

**I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking an intentional break. I have written tens of thousands of words, covering all of my stories, and I can't figure out where to go from there. I just keep reading over it to proofread, and end up deleting it because it was horrible. I'm sorry, but for now all of my stories are on hold. I will return to writing them the moment I get something written that I feel is good enough for you amazing readers. **

**Now, understand that it is possible that I may post a new story due to a strike of inspiration, but I can't and won't promise that. Once again, I apologize for this.**

**If you have any ideas as to what I do next, please tell me in a PM or review. Even if I don't use it, it will help restore the creative juices in my brain. **

**Thank you all so very much for reading my stories! I will do the best I can to get back on them for you! As I've said before, thanks for being amazing. I love you guys! God bless!**


	10. Chapter 9

**AN: **Thanks for all of the awesome suggestions! You guys all helped me get unstuck! Now you get to enjoy the fruits of my labor of love! To those who sent me messages or reviewed ideas, I can't express my gratitude enough. I assure you that, if you pay attention, you will see your suggestions woven into the story. Thanks for getting me unstuck!

**Chapter 9**

**Percy POV**

"_Lady Lupa? Forgive my words. I am on edge. The full moon rises shortly, and I must take care of my pack. I'm sure you understand," _I said.

_"Of course," _Lupa said. _"Fear not the moon, young wolves. I will ensure your safety, and the safety of others through this night. Perseus, you have done well in your quest to the Mountain of Despair."_

_"Thank you, for your gracious offer, my lady, but I'm afraid I need to learn how to manage my pack," _I said. Lupa nodded her head.

_"I understand your position, but I am afraid you are too close to the Legion for their safety," _she said.

_"Are they cloaked, or something? I couldn't detect anything," _I said.

_"They are magically shielded, but you would have been able to find them if you ventured close enough to their camp. Needless to say, you aren't close enough to smell them from here, yet you are too close for their safety. You know how quickly you can travel, and your pack mates will receive the full benefit of their status as monsters tonight, including the monstrous travel speed," _she said.

_"This would mean that, if I were unable to control them, there is a chance that my wolves may attack the Romans. How far do you believe we must move?" _I asked.

_"I already stated that you need not fear the moon's power on this night. I can ensure control, but only for this full moon," _Lupa said.

_"Why is that, Lupa? Is it involved with the direct interference thing?" _I asked.

_"I am afraid not, child. I am weakening, and if I were to expend too much of my power, I may fade," _Lupa answered sadly. Piercing the night, the anguish-filled howl of Lupa's pack struck me, and my wolves, to the core.

_"I...I am sorry, Lupa," _I said.

_"Nonsense," _Lupa declared. _"I am not dead yet. There is much I can yet do to provide aid." _A smile stretched across my wolfish face. Lupa was every bit the fighter I believed she would be.

_"Of course," _I said. _"Is there anything we have to do to prepare?" _

_"Not at this time, no. In the future, you will likely need to put far more distance between you and all society," _Lupa replied.

_"What do you mean?" _I asked.

_"There are places that, even before the fall of Olympus, were wild. The Land Beyond the Gods, while exceedingly dangerous, is one such place. Mortals once called it Alaska, and the few who still remember that land, or remain alive within it, still call it so. Other locations involve the Amazonian Jungle, or some other equally wild location. True safety for the mortals and your pack can only be found, at this point in their journey, through isolation." _Lupa said. I thought for a few moments, but her words interacted with my own fears.

_"I will consider such places for the next full moons, Lady Lupa. I understand that now may not be the ideal time, but I wish to speak to the Romans, and see how much strength they still retain. I am beginning to gather strength to fight back," _I said.

_"Of course, Perseus. I will watch your pack for you. Ask to speak to Jason and Reyna. They are the leaders, known as Praetors," _Lupa said. She then gave me the location of the Roman camp.

Moments later, I was off.

When I first arrived, the sentries on watch were startled, and prepared to attack me. _Well, so much for a subtle introduction to my arrival, _I thought as I switched to human form. "Greetings, Romans. Lady Lupa has sent me to speak to your Praetors, Jason and Reyna. I am Perseus Jackson, Alpha of my pack, and friend to the gods," I declared. The two guards spoke with each other briefly. They didn't think I could hear them.

"Wasn't Percy Jackson the Greek hero who defeated Kronos?" the one on the left asked.

"Yea, I think so, but this guy is a monster. What should we do?" the other asked in turn.

"You should take me to Jason and Reyna. I could force my way in, but that wouldn't help forge a prospective alliance. On my life and honor, I swear I will not harm anyone, assuming they don't try and harm me," I said.

"How did you hear us?" Lefty asked.

"Um, gee, I may have superhuman hearing, because I'm a werewolf," I answered dryly.

"Oh, uh, that's right," the guy on the right said. He turned to his partner. "We can't abandon the post. I'll go get someone to take Percy, or whoever this really is, to the Praetors."

"Alright," the other one said.

"Do you know why the legion decided to make camp here?" I asked the sentry.

"This location is fairly easy to defend, and well hidden," he replied tersely. I could tell something was eating at him, and sighed deeply.

"On the trip here, did you lose someone close to you?" I asked. The guard hesitated for a moment, but didn't answer. His body language and demeanor, however, spoke in the affirmative. "I understand losing someone close to you. I've lost many friends, and many have even died in my arms. My mother and stepdad were killed, just because they were important to me, and my girlfriend was sacrificed so Gaia could rise. I didn't even know until nearly a decade had passed. I've pushed it to the back of my mind, because I know I can't let myself focus on it right now. Other people depend on me, and I have to be strong for them," I said softly. A few more moments passed in silence, before the guard spoke up.

"She was my fiancée. We never even got the chance to start planning our wedding when the whole world collapsed around us. I loved her so much," he said. His face was still ironbound and firm, but a few rogue tears managed to escape his eyes.

"Did she die a hero?" I asked. He nodded his head firmly. "Then you, at least, will get to see her again. The Underworld is still in Hades' hands. I will never get to see my Annabeth again, because if I die, I go to Tartarus to reform."

"I, I am sorry," he managed. I nodded my head.

"Don't be sorry," I said. "Rather, be strong, and honor your beloved's memory, just as I honor Annabeth's." By this time, the other sentry had returned with a fairly large kid that was somewhat odd looking. He was buff and tall, and would have been a fairly intimidating figure, if not for his baby face. He looked like he was of Asian descent.

"I'm Frank, Son of Mars. I'll be taking you to Jason and Reyna," he said.

"Good to meet you, Frank," I said. "I'm Perseus Jackson, but just call me Percy."

We walked in silence for several minutes, until I had to ask the question that had been bugging me. "Are we related?" I asked.

"Um, pardon me?" Frank asked, completely confused.

"You smell of the sea. In fact, you smell very strongly of the sea. Are you a descendent of Poseidon? Or Neptune, as you call him," I inquired.

"How could you possibly know that? What do you mean I smell?" he asked, slightly offended.

"That doesn't matter. I'm a son of Poseidon, so that makes us family," I said with a smirk.

"Uh, sure, I guess," he mumbled.

By then, we had arrived at a large purple tent, with two guards posted outside of it. Frank whispered something to the guard on the right, and she announced our arrival to the Praetors, who called for us to enter. Because my eyes didn't need to adjust to the dimly lit tent, I instantly saw the pair leaning over a table with a map of the surrounding area on it. "This is our visitor?" the guy asked after glancing up.

"Yes, Praetor," Frank replied.

"Ease up, Frank. We aren't in a senate meeting. Who would have thought I would eventually start missing those?" Jason mumbled. Frank smiled slightly, and relaxed. That is when the dark hair girl looked up. Her eyes flashed with recognition when they met my own.

"You know me," I stated.

"I didn't think anything of your name when I heard it. It was but a distant memory. But I can't forget your eyes. Tell me, how is your blond partner in pirate wrangling doing?" she asked with a bite to her voice. I knew she was talking about Annabeth, but the pirate wrangling thing threw me for a loop.

"Um, what?" I asked dumbly.

"Blackbeard? Sea of Monsters?" she spoke harshly.

"You were on Circe's island?" I asked.

"Yes, and you ruined my home!" she growled.

"Blackbeard did that," I replied stupidly. "Now leave Annabeth out of this. If you must know, she is dead," I said harshly.

"Reyna! What is wrong with you?" Jason demanded. The whole time, Frank had slid into a chair in one of the dark corners, and tried to avoid getting drawn into the confrontation. Meanwhile, Reyna took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Sorry, I'm a bit stressed. Forgive me, Percy," she said.

"If there is any issue between us, it must be resolved if we hope to work together," I said.

"There are no issues, Percy," Reyna reassured me.

"As you say," I said. "Now, for proper introductions. I am Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, and Alpha werewolf," I declared. Everyone's eyes widened for a second, before they shook it off.

"The messenger must have forgotten that little detail," Reyna muttered. "I am Reyna, Daughter of Bellona, and Co-Praetor of the Twelfth Legion. And this is my colleague, Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter."

"It is good to meet you both face to face. Jason, have you heard from your sister recently?" I asked. Jason was stunned for a brief moment.

"No, not recently. She and the Hunters checked in here a few months ago. They are diligently searching for Lady Diana, and rarely pass by," he said. I nodded, and then cleared my throat.

"Well, I believe my pack and I passed by the Hunters in Kentucky, but I did not stop and check. At the time, it was too much of a risk. I will have to chase them down later," I said.

"Excellent, now, what purpose do you serve by being here?" Reyna asked. I shifted my weight onto the table.

"I am locating and gathering forces to prepare a counter-strike against Gaea's forces. I am here to assess your strength, and see if you will cooperate," I stated bluntly. Frank coughed from his corner, but whether it was in reaction to my statement or not, I don't know.

"Well, I am afraid I don't trust you enough to allow you to assess our forces. You will have to prove your loyalty to Olympus," Reyna said with steel in her voice.

"Reyna, what is it we have to lose?" Jason asked quietly. Reyna slammed her fist on the table.

"Jason, we have already lost too many of our soldiers to this war. New Rome was destroyed! We have to hold on to what we still have," she replied fiercely. They stared down each other intensely for several moments, before I decided to break the silence.

"What do I have to do to earn your trust and support?" I asked. "If it is within my power, I will accomplish it." Frank chuckled slightly in the background. He must be enjoying himself.

"What is within your power?" Jason asked, trying to keep Reyna in check.

"Name it, and I will tell you if I can do it," I replied. Reyna didn't hesitate.

"Find and restore Mars," she said. "Can you do that?" My vision went slightly red at the edges and I growled slightly.

"No," I said tersely.

"Why not?" Reyna asked. "Are you not strong enough?" she demanded.

"Reyna..." Jason started.

"NO, Jason!" she snapped.

"If bringing that worthless, backstabbing god is the cost of our alliance, then this talk is over," I forced out venomously.

"HEY! What's wrong with my dad?" Frank demanded.

"He is the Patron of Rome!" Reyna yelled. Jason didn't say anything, but he did glare at me slightly.

"Ares, Mars' Greek counterpart, is the reason why I am a monster! It is his fault that the world is like this!" I screamed.

"What? How dare you?" Reyna yelled. The guards stepped in, and moved towards me. My canines extended as I growled.

"Call off your little guard puppies before I show them the power of an Alpha," I warned.

"It is best for you to leave now," Jason said firmly. A small roar escaped from my throat before I responded.

"As you wish, fools," I spat. Suddenly, the war horns were sounded, and all five Romans' eyes went wide.

"We're under attack!" a distant voice cried.

**AN: **Be honest, did it suck? Were there any contradictions with previous chapters? Did I leave any grammatical errors behind? Remember, every little bit helps! I want to give you guys the best content available, because I have the best readers available! (That's you guys!) Thanks again! And God bless you all!


	11. Chapter 10

**AN: **Thanks for all of the reviews, and the ideas once more! Let me know what you think of this chapter.

**Chapter 10**

**Percy POV**

A growl erupted from my throat as I tried to avoid becoming the wolf. As close as the full moon was, I was far more savage than normal, and already mad at those Praetors. Growls and screams and roaring filled the air, followed moments later by cries of agony and fear. The Romans had been taken entirely by surprise. I reached into the pocket of my battered shorts, and pulled out Riptide. I realized at that moment that I had not properly trained with it in a decade. But that didn't matter, because I needed to prove I was trustworthy.

I began to rush toward the front lines, jumping over legionnaires, and even using a few as a springboard. Just before I reached to battle, a feral howl descended upon the battlefield. I recognized it as Daniel's, and I feared he had lost control once more. I scanned the tree line looking for him, and finally saw him, and he was prepared to attack.

However, before I charged forward to stop him, I saw Lupa walk up next to him, along with the rest of both packs. With a wolfish war cry, Lupa led the wolves from the forest and into the small clearing that had become a battlefield. The ferocity they displayed astounded me, and I realized I was just as, if not more fierce.

As I was stunned by the awesome display before me, an arrow shot past my face, and imbedded itself into a nearby legionnaire. That snapped me into focus. I jumped over the few remaining Romans standing between me and the monsters attacking them, and began to do work. One foolish Hellhound jumped toward me, but I batted it aside and stabbed its brain through its jaw. I spun around immediately afterward and punched a Dracanae so hard I snapped its neck and killed it. Yet, despite the increasing number of dead monsters, there was always another beast to take its place. Lupa and the wolves didn't have to strength to make any significant difference, and just picked off stragglers and harassed the opposing army. The Romans were getting pushed back farther and farther into their camp, and several large Hellhounds had somehow managed to get behind them, and were tearing the Romans apart. Bit by bit I pushed, but wave after wave kept coming. Within moments I had been surrounded and cut off from the rest of the army.

If the Romans were going to survive this battle, I needed to do something drastic, and quickly. After slicing the head off a Cyclops, I charged deeper into the army of monsters, before stabbing my sword into the ground, channeling as much of my power into the earth as I could. The immediate resulting blast sent the surrounding monsters flying, while the tumultuous rumbling that followed violently fractured the battlefield. My strength began to wane slightly, but every time I glanced up, I knew I had to keep pushing. No effort could be spared. Moisture began to collect in the sky as the tremendous expenditure of my power called it, and soon torrential rains poured from the heavens. I withdrew my sword from the ground, but continued powering the storm. The rainwater rejuvenated me, and the rains continued pouring down heavier than it was the moment before.

The craters, ruptures, and cliff became all the more dangerous as the floodwaters began to rise. "EVERYBODY STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER!" I heard someone scream. The winds seemed to pick up in speed even more, and lightning flashed across the skies. The deafening thunder sent the remaining monsters into a panic, but they had no clear route of escape, because the earthquake I caused affected the surrounding area so extensively that, if there even was an escape route, the decimated army would be unable to find it. Suddenly, a tremendous bolt of lightning darted from the menacing clouds above us, and struck several large groups of the remaining monster, many of which were standing in, or otherwise surrounded by, the ever-rising floodwaters. Snapping my head around to look for Jason, I could not find him anywhere within sight, until he called out for my attention. "Percy! We have another problem!" Jason yelled.

"What is it?" I yelled in return. Before he could respond, several arrows shot towards him, forcing him to take a kamikaze dive toward the ground. Landing heavily near me, Jason's face was pale and he looked sick. "Are you alright? You did not overextend yourself, did you?" I asked in concern. I may have been angry with him a moment ago, but he was a comrade in arms now, and that is all that mattered to me.

"I'm fine for now. But, like I said, we have a problem," Jason said, as I pulled him to his feet. "One of the Titans is here." The wolf inside me, the warmonger that he is, began to literally demand I release the bestial side of my nature.

"Did you recognize who it was?" I asked the Praetor. He shook his head in response.

"No, I did not recognize him," Jason answered. Ominous, booming laughter filled the skies as Jason rushed back to the camp, despite his injuries. I jumped onto a large chunk of rock that rose from the ground during the earthquake, and scanned the fractured battlefield for the Titan.

A wolf yelped loudly, and I turned to see Iapetus, formerly bob, fighting against the wolves. Annie lay on her side in pain, while Daniel and Austyn tried to keep him distracted so Lupa could sneak up behind him. However, the Piercer was not fooled. He batted aside my wolves before whipping around and thrusting his spear into Lupa's chest. Austyn jumped onto his back, but he was no longer himself. Whether Lupa was fading or not, the shock of Iapetus' spear in her chest broke her concentration, and my wolves lost their protection from the moon, which sat high and mighty in the heavens. Austyn's feral roar ripped through the night air, and sent what few monsters that remained running for the hills. Or, I should say, running out of the hills.

I glanced up at the moon, and realized I still had not changed. _"Lady Lupa, save your strength. I will handle them," _I thought. The very next second, the power holding back the beast withdrew, and my bones began to shift and realign. Guttural growls erupted from my throat as my inner wolf came to the surface and showed its face. With a final, ear piercing howl, I charged toward Iapetus at full speed.

Austyn's instincts sensed my fury, and quickly leapt off the Titan. Immediately, I launched myself through the air, and knocked Iapetus to the rough ground beneath him. Reacting like the talented warrior he was, the Titan kicked me off, and jumped back to his feet. I rose onto my back legs, and savagely roared in his face as we circled each other. For a brief moment, terror covered Iapetus' face, but he quickly recovered, and charged my towering frame. He jabbed his spear at me, but I merely stood still and took the weapon. As the tool of war collided with my invulnerable skin, the Piercer's piercer snapped in his own hands. The Titan's eyes widened, and then came to a realization. "Perseus Jackson is it? Well, it has been a long time. Unfortunately for you, I don't need my spear to kill the likes of you!"

Then I was surprised for a brief moment. Iapetus tackled me to the floor, and proceeded to mercilessly punch me. His vicious blows actually managed to hurt me, but I heard bones in his hands break with every punch. Iapetus had gone as mad as a werewolf during the full moon. What did his supposed allies do to him?

Several of my ribs cracked through my invulnerable skin, but they began to heal nearly as fast as they broke. Still I could not get free, as Iapetus' hulking form had me pinned, though I didn't know how. Moments later, though, the weight of the Titan was suddenly off of me, and I saw Daniel pinning the Titan to the ground. He began to tear away at Iapetus' flesh, and his desperate screams of pain echoed across the valley. Soon, Annie and Austyn joined in the orgy of savagery and blood. Their feeding frenzy nearly infected me, but I retained some portion of my humanity, and ferociously roared to call them off. My pack have now fully embraced the wolf, and their human thoughts are nearly nonexistent, so now the only way I can control them is through their innate fear of their Alpha wolf. All of their ears folded back against their head, and they backed away slowly from the kill.

Iapetus, or rather what was left of him, likely wished he was dead. I had forgotten the sheer ferocity and savagery of a moon drunk werewolf, especially one that is out of control. The Titan's golden blood soaked into the ground, and what remained of his body began to fade slowly. Whether that meant that Iapetus was actually fading or not, I didn't know. Yet, it was somewhat similar to how Pan faded when I was in the labyrinth. As the final tangible proof of Iapetus' demise vanished from the mortal world, a cry of pain snapped me back to reality. My mind was foggy from the moon's power, but I still retained my control, as I had learned over the past decade.

Turning to locate the source of the cry, I saw Lady Lupa lying on her side, with her own Ichor pouring from the hole in her chest. I nudged her side with my nose, and whimpered slightly at the mighty she-wolf. _"Perseus,"_ she said softly in my mind. _"My time is nigh. I feared that this day would come sooner rather than later. My death will not be delayed any longer. My strength that sustained me, and the Romans, has failed. I cannot tell you what will happen after this, because I myself don't know. Truthfully, I never allowed myself to dwell on this possibility excessively." _She hacked up a nasty glob of immortal blood, and her form flickered briefly.

"_My time has nearly run out, young wolf. You are the final hope for the gods. I give to you my blessing, and what little remains of my power. Maybe it will be enough. Give my love to the Romans, and care for them as I would," _she hardly managed. My ears lay back onto my head, and I whimpered once more. I felt some larger modicum of control return to me as I lay there next to the dying goddess, and more of my human thoughts resurfaced.

"_I will do my very best, my lady. Those responsible for this crime will not go unpunished," _I said softly.

"_I go to the Void. May Rome last forever," _Lupa quietly breathed, before her form flickered for its last time, and vanished from sight. As she died, I felt the loss of the goddess of wolves within my soul. Her connection to me was likely as large as my connection to the seas, so when she died, a part of me died as well. As I released a painful and mournful howl to the moon, her spirit flowed through my pack, and peace filled our hearts at her passing. My cry was echoed by the cry of every other wolf for miles around, and I had sneaking suspicion that every wolf on the planet mourned the fading of the Wolf Goddess.

We sat there, sometimes in silence, sometimes not, but always in mourning, until the dawn of the next day. My pack had transformed back into their human forms, and I gestured that they follow me back toward the Roman's camp. Annie had several tears still pouring down her face, while Austyn and Daniel tried to mask their grief. I felt the pain of every wolf in the world as they continued to mourn, and several cries of anguish from what remained of her pack still lingered in the air as the sun rose.

After several sorrowful minutes, we sauntered into the Roman camp. The sentries waved us in, and we slowly made our way toward the Praetor's tent. Moans of pain wafted through the damp morning air as we passed by the injured. From my prior experience in the Second Titan War, I knew at a glance which soldiers would live, and which soldiers would die slow, painful deaths. Of course, some would pull through miraculously, but without the aid of the gods, like Apollo, many more Romans would die in the aftermath of the battle. _Unless... _I began to think to myself, before someone called my name. "Percy!" Frank yelled. He looked a bit cut up, but otherwise none the worse for wear. "What's been going on with the wolves? And who are these people?" He asked. He made a few glances towards a few of Lupa's wolves, but didn't say anything.

Wondering if I should tell him, I stayed silent for a moment. Then I figured there was nothing to lose, so I said, "Lady Lupa has faded."

Frank's jaw dropped, and he looked frozen in place, while the wolves cried once more. I sighed, and continued on my way toward the Praetor's tent. What will the Romans do without Lupa?

**AN: **AND, DONE! Sorry, I meant to post this chapter yesterday, as that would have been a week since the last chapter, but it was my mom's birthday, and I got pulled away from finishing it. I hope you liked this chapter, because I think I did fairly well with it. Anyway, tell me about any major errors you saw that I missed, and I will correct them. As always, thank you for being such amazing readers!


	12. Chapter 11

**AN: **Hey there guys. I'm glad that you enjoy the last chapter! Sorry about the wait on this chapter, by the way. School started up, and I needed to get readjusted. Still, I won't promise tons of fast updates, because I write when I can, and, frankly, when I feel like it. Unfortunately, I have felt like writing, but had other responsibilities. But, enough stalling. ONTO THE SHOW, or, err, chapter.

**Chapter 11**

**Percy POV**

"So where do we go from here?" Annie asked Percy. The pack had claimed a corner of the Roman camp as their own, and they were sprawled all over the place, along with several of Lupa's own wolves.

"To be totally honest, Annie, I don't have the faintest idea," I mumbled with my head in my hands. The often overwhelming responsibilities and pressures of leadership never weighed so much as they did then.

"Well, it's fairly obvious that the Romans must relocate," Austyn said as he scratched one of the larger wolves the behind the ear. "Even if Iapetus and his army found this place by accident, our enemies will know where the camp is, if they didn't already and will send another army."

"Austyn is right," Daniel stated. "I mean, we could fight off anything they send to us, but the Romans can't take much more. On top of that, I'm guessing we won't be staying around much longer."

"All of you are right," I said, finally gazing up at them through my unshorn hair. "We have places to go, and the Romans can't stay here. At the very least, I think we should help the Romans relocate, to further, honor Lupa's memory. But, after that, I don't know where to start."

Before anything else could be said, Frank sauntered up to us, with an incredibly somber look on his face. "Are you certain you do not desire to attend Lupa's funeral?" Frank quietly asked.

"I don't think I could handle it," Annie mumbled. She mentioned earlier that she didn't handle her parents' death very well, and, needless to say, wouldn't handle the funeral, just as she said.

I turned to face Frank, and said, "Trust me when I say that we do mourn for her, and will continue to do so. But know we will honor Lupa as wolves and so we will continue her legacy through our strength." Austyn and Daniel remained silent while the wolves crooned softly at their Lady's name.

"Well, whatever you say. I have no real objection, and if I did, you wouldn't care," Frank responded.

"Nope," I replied tersely. "However, please let Jason and Reyna know that I wish to speak with them after the ceremony, at their earliest convenience."

"I'll do that," Frank agreed. Then, the oddly shaped son of Mars shuffled back and out of the modest wolf camp.

The sun began to slowly warm the morning air as it rose gracefully toward the apex of the midday. It seemed to me that the sun had lost some of its magnificence and luster with the abduction of Apollo. On that note, I felt as though the beauty and grace of the moon had diminished with Artemis' disappearance. Perhaps, and it seems likely to me, without the power of the goddess, that the moon's drawn on me, and on my young wolves, had lessened considerably. Whether that meant we were, as a direct result, less powerful than we may have otherwise been, I couldn't possibly know.

After several moments passed by in silence, Daniel stood, and dusted his exhausted, torn up jeans off before announcing that he was hungry, and felt like hunting. Hopefully he learned that he had no sin to the tone for a more, and would not attempt to starve himself again. Annie jumped up to go with him, while Austyn stayed behind with me.

Several more moments passed in silence, until I spoke up. "As soon as I finish speaking with the praetors, I'll need you to get the other two, so we can head off to meet Nico."

"Alright, I suppose," Austyn agreed. "Hey, Percy?" he asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Are you being serious about the whole deal with the Titans and Giants?" Austyn questioned.

"Yes, I am dead serious," I responded, without hesitation." All right, well, what are our next steps?" Austyn immediately came back.

"Well, after I speak with Nico, I think we will have a better sense of direction. But, I know now that we have to free, at the bare minimum, one God or Goddess. Without one, we won't be able to kill the Gigantes at all. Ideally, though, we need as many Olympians, or other gods, as we can find," I said.

Hours passed by as I sat there, mind racing at breakneck speeds. Despite the rapidity of my thoughts, I made no true progress with developing a more substantial idea. Sandaled feet stomped into our small base, and I gazed up to see the praetors flanked by a pair of guards. I gestured to Austyn, signaling him to find the other two. Now, I was not going to mention anything to Austyn, but I had a sneaking suspicion concerning those two.

"Greetings, Perseus," Jason said. I put my hand up.

"Please, call me Percy. Didn't I say that already?" I asked. Jason shrugged.

"Yes, well, Percy, Frank mentioned that you wanted to speak with us. What is it?" Reyna inquired. Gathering my thoughts, I gestured for the two leaders to walk with me.

"Now that the full moon has passed, I have several tasks to perform in a short time. I assume you recognize the fact that you and the legion must mobilize to a different location?" I asked with a raised brow. The pair nodded. "Excellent, well, to further honor Lupa's memory, we will scout out locations for your next camp. Do not expect any other favors, Praetors Reyna and Jason. I have not forgotten the crimes committed against me by Ares, and nor will I forgive Mars. I understand your dedication and honor to the god, but I cannot, physically, do anything involving the war god, with the exception of finishing him off. By the way, just in case you haven't figured it out yet, I never mince my words." Several times during my little diatribe, the guards winced slightly, and Jason's eye twitched once or twice. Only Reyna showed no reaction at all to my bitter, biting words.

"And, after you actions over the previous night, I would not ask you to restore Mars once more. Jason and I have already discussed the matter, and, should you call on the Twelfth Legion of Rome, we will answer. You have gained our trust," Reyna said diplomatically.

"May the day soon arrive in which we will fight together for the restoration, or revenge, of Olympus," I said. Several moments passed in silence.

"Now, concerning your future camp location, I believe you need to be several days travel away from here. It would be best if you are closer to our allies in New York, and the camp must be better hidden. Now, whether that means you have a thick canopy of trees over your head, or the next base is underground, I don't really know, or care," I said. Jason nodded.

"If anyone in the legion can keep pace with you, it would be Frank," he said. When my eyebrow arched, Jason just chuckled, and said that I would see.

By the time that Austyn had found Daniel and Annie, I was all set to go, and Frank had come over, and explained how he could keep up, to some degree. I was extremely impressed, to say the least. Before night fell, we set off, with several of the wolves from Lupa's pack with us. They seemed to be following me around, and I felt as though they could impress ideas, and communicate without words. Perhaps that has something to do with Lupa giving part of her power to me.

Frank was to fly above us, as an eagle, or some other bird, and look for a suitable location from above, while we searched the ground below. After some time passed, he dove down near us, and landed.

"Frank, are you tired? Or did you find a workable location for your camp?" I asked after shifting back out of wolf form. He shook his head, but reached into his pack for some water.

"No, I'm fine. Where exactly is this other demigod outpost?" the legionnaire asked.

"It is near our old camp, in Long Island. I'm thinking it might possibly be a good idea to settle down in our old camp. It is densely wooded, and some small shred of the magic that once protected may still exist. It didn't hinder my entry at all when I visited, but there could be any number of explanations for that, and it doesn't mean that the barrier will keep out weaker monsters," I explained.

"Do you think it is wise for us to camp there? I mean, if the enemy destroyed it, they would know where it is," Frank asked. I smirked slightly.

"It may be a slight gamble, but why would they think that we inhabit the region again? After all, it has been nearly a decade, or I assume it has been that long, since Camp Half-blood was destroyed. No demigod has dared enter that place since, other than myself. Why would our enemies bother to check it? It is the last place that they would expect us to be," I replied with a brazen smirk. A light took hold of Frank's eyes as he slowly nodded his head.

"It's crazy, but it just might work!" He mumbled excitedly. "Show me this place." My wolfish grin covered my face as I grew excited, and shifted into the wolf.

I stood to my full stature on my rear legs, and Frank gulped. "I never really got to see how huge you were up close and in person," he mumbled to himself before he changed into his bird form. I laughed as well as I could, and it sounded like gravel was being crushed in my throat.

Moments later, we sped off toward New York once more.

Every single step closer, my blood quickened more and more. I got excited about the future, and I didn't particularly know why that was. Suddenly, everything seemed to be coming together, piece by piece. I knew there were gods still around, even if Hades was the only one left, and I knew that he wasn't the last of the gods. My pack was slowly growing more powerful as they came into their own strength. We already had a small army in the form of the Romans, and I was determined to find more of my former friends. After all, the strength of the wolf is the pack.

**AN: **So what did you think, my friends? Did you see any glaring mistakes, or the like? I tried using Dragon Naturally Speaking for part of this, and so I had to go behind it a whole bunch to get some of the errors corrected. I think I got them all, but I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, thanks for reading, and God bless!


	13. Chapter 12

**AN:** Thanks for the great reception last chapter guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much, if not more!

**Chapter 12**

**Percy POV**

By the time we arrived at the borders of Camp Half-blood, or what remained of it, Frank was tuckered out, and my pack had gotten more than a little bit frisky. Daniel and Austyn were on the very edge of either wrestling, or killing each other, not that there was much of a difference, and Annie was chasing after nearly any scent she could track. Collectively, they were acting like puppies, and it was killing me. I couldn't decide if I wanted to pull my fur out, or laugh until I couldn't breathe anymore. _"Hey, everyone shift back to human form for now. I want to show you my old home,"_ I told my pack.

"We can check it out in just a minute," Frank managed between gulps of air.

"Dude, you should have told us to stop or something. We can go way faster than that, and I thought you were doing just fine," I responded quickly. Frank mumbled something under his breath, and I didn't catch it.

Five minutes later, Frank had his breathing under control, and he had drained the majority of his supply of water. "Alright, let's check out Camp Half-blood," he said excitedly. Annie and Daniel were talking about the hunt they took before we left the Roman campsite.

"You two are free to discuss hunting all you like, but you'll have to focus on where you step. There are probably a bunch of weapons and such lying on the ground. Trust me when I say that you wouldn't want to get cut on the feet. When that happened to me, it was an extremely terrible experience," I said.

"Alright, Perce," Daniel said, before turning and talking with Annie again, this time, carefully watching where they stepped.

"Frank, let me know what you think," I told him.

"Well, there are a lot of trees," he answered.

"Great observation skills there, buddy," I said in return. "I meant, do you think this might be suitable?"

"It seems like it would be somewhat defensible and hidden. However, I'm worried about several things," Frank began.

"And they would be?" I prompted the legionnaire.

"Well, as you pointed out, there are a ton of leftover and broken weapons along the ground, and, until we get them picked up, it will be very dangerous, just because of that. But, that is a relatively small issue. My primary concern is that the Giants and Titans know where this place is, and they probably scout the place out every now and then. Something else is the lack of options if we have to retreat. Since we would have the sea at our backs, it would be much easier for our enemies to surround us," Frank explained.

"I understand that, but I can tell you right now that, if the enemy sends scouts around here at all, they have not sent one recently. Even monsters have scents, and there isn't any trace of a monster, except for my own scent, and it has been a while since I have passed through this area. The barrier doesn't provide any resistance for any of us when it comes to getting inside the borders, but, after a quick test, I can tell you if your demigod scent gets past it. If I can't pick up your scent when you are inside the barrier, then that automatically makes this one of the safest places on earth," I replied.

"Alright, that sounds like a decent idea. We'll test that soon. Now, can I get the grand tour of what this place used to look like?" Frank asked with a smile. I sent my own smile his way, before gesturing for him to follow me.

After a few minutes of walking, we came to where I remembered the Big House to be. The foundation was still there, along with some shreds of burnt lumber. I heard a quiet growl, and my brow furrowed. "What was that?" Frank asked. He seemed a bit jumpy.

"I don't know," I said as I dug through several heavy pieces of wood, and found a mounted leopard's head.

"Um, is that thing alive?" Frank asked. The leopard roared in response. "What sort of magic is this?" I shook my head, and laughed a little at Frank's expense.

"I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess, I would say this is Mr. D's work," I answered.

"Who is Mr. D?" Annie asked. She and Daniel had stopped talking when they heard the leopard.

"D is for Dionysus, the Olympian God of Wine and Madness. He was in charge of Camp Half-blood. It was a punishment for chasing after some off-limits nymph or something. Anyway, he hated it here, and did everything in his power to try and piss us off or ignore us. He insisted on saying my name wrong all the time. It almost got funny at one point, and then it went straight back to annoying," I said with a nostalgic smile. "What wouldn't I give for things to be that easy and simple again?"

"Okay, great," Frank said. "So what is this place exactly, or rather, what was it?"

"This is what used to be the Big House. It is where Chiron, the immortal trainer of heroes, and Mr. D stayed. Occasionally, an important guest might stay here. The infirmary was located here as well.

"Now, since we are fairly close to the border of camp, let's go and test if the barrier still keeps a demigod's scent from getting out," I said. Everyone followed me to Thalia's old pine tree; I put my hand on it with a smile on my face as I drifted back down memory lane. The memory was bittersweet, however, because of how everything has changed so drastically. I sighed, before turning to Frank and telling him to stand on the other side of the barrier, while I positioned myself outside of it. Immediately following my will, my body began to violently reform, with my bones breaking and repositioning where necessary, while other bones lengthened.

Soon, I towered over my friends as a growl echoed from my chest. "Whoa, I forget just how big he is," Daniel mumbles to Annie, who nodded numbly in return. Several deep breaths later, I shifted back into my human form with little more than a grunt of pain.

"We're in good shape. I could not get a single whiff of you. Fortune favors us," I said.

We walked back into the camp, and I proceeded to lead the group throughout the old place. After showing them the old cabin area, or what I thought it was, and the pavilion, Frank stopped in his tracks. "I think I've seen enough for now. This will work for the legion and her needs in the meantime. I will inform the praetors. Thanks you," he said.

"Think nothing of it," I instructed him. "Would you like one of us to escort you back?"

"No, I will be fine. After all, I am a trained soldier of Rome. I hope to see you soon," Frank answered, before transforming into some kind of bird, and taking off back toward the Romans.

"So what do we do now?" Austyn asked shortly after Frank's departure.

"We go and meet with Nico, and solidify our plan. I'm getting excited now," I stated energetically. "See if you can keep up!"

We dashed off on foot toward Nico and Conner's hideout, and I finished in dead last, but not by too much. Sniffing slightly to confirm my location was correct, I called out for the watchman I knew had spotted us.

After he escorted us in, he walked back out to do his duty, leaving us to our own devices. "Nico! Connor! I'm back, and I've got an allied army on the way!" I declared loudly. Everyone in the room immediately swarmed my location, begging for an explanation, about both the army, and my lycanthropy.

"Settle down everyone!" Connor yelled, pushing through the thick throng of demigods. "Seriously, where did all this craziness come from?"

"Connor, how have things been around

here? Where is Nico?" I asked.

He shrugged slightly, before answering, "Things have been the same as before. Nico left around thirty minutes ago to speak with Hades. He should be back soon, but we can't honestly be sure. Now, where have you been? We were getting concerned; you have been gone for about a month."

"Really? It's been that long?" I mused. "Well, I got caught up on the way back from California. It turns out that I can make other werewolves, and, as the Fates would have it, I already have three pack members. I will explain more about that later, when Nico is back.

"Now, another reason I'm late, if you want to say it that way, is because I found the Romans. The Romans have been camped out in the Appalchian Mountains, and have evaded detection until just recently. Their guardian, or trainer, Lady Lupa, the goddess of wolves, passed away after battling against Iapetus, who led an army to attack the Roman Legion. Before you ask, the Titan is now enjoying a painful vacation in Tartarus, courtesy of me and my pack. After this attack, they decided to move elsewhere. With my guidance, they will likely opt to settle in Camp Half-blood. We tested the borders, and they still keep demigod scents protected. The Romans will, presumably, fortify the area. It may be a wise decision to, for lack of a better phrase, move in with them. Things are happening quickly, and we must gather our strength to be prepared for our battle for freedom!" I declared, with the final bit being shouted to the entire group, eliciting a cheer from the battered warriors.

"Excellent!" Connor yelled.

"Do we know where any other demigod hideouts are?" Austyn asked.

Connor nodded slowly. "We know of at least two other groups, but we don't know how they are doing right now. We communicate as little as possible, for safety's sake. Who are you?" the son of Hermes questioned.

"He is one of my wolves. Austyn and his sister, Annie, were mortals, before Daniel, my first wolf, lost control. Those issues have been resolved now," I said quickly, to soothe the worries of the nervous group surrounding me. "Daniel is also a demigod, but I don't know who his parent is. Connor, they need to be taught how to fight as people."

"Well then, why don't you train them? After all, you are the best swordsman of all of us," Connor asked.

"I am out of practice, since most of the last decade I have lived, fought, and dreamed as a wolf. Perhaps if Nico and I could spar, everything would come back to me," I stated simply.

"Why do we need to learn to fight as humans?" Annie questioned me.

"There are many reasons, and I doubt I could list all if them. However, you may need to fight in human form because you won't have time to transform. Also, I'd wager that if you knew more about how humans fight, those opponents you cannot simply overpower will be easier to take out, since you would have, at very least, a rudimentary understanding of battle. It also good discipline for the mind and body, and will probably help keep the strength of your human form on a somewhat comparable level with that of your wolf, which makes it easier to shift and control yourself. Is that a good enough explanation?" I asked her with a small smirk. She nodded her head numbly. I may have fried her with an information overload.

"I think I would like to rest for a bit. Somebody wake me up when Nico gets back," I instructed. After Connor led me to a hammock in the corner, I flopped into it, and drifted off to sleep.

**AN:** Hey! I just wanted to get this chapter out to you guys as soon as I could. I have been SWAMPED all week, but I still managed this, although I don't really know how. Lord willing, I will have another chapter up this weekend. By the way, I wrote most of this on my iPod, so I may have more errors than normal. Anyway, thanks for being such awesome readers! I love you guys, and girls of course!


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